Eddie Hearn aiming for £1m world darts champion prize after taking over from his dad Barry
EDDIE HEARN wants to raise the world darts champions’ prize cheque to £1milllion during his tenure.
The 42-year-old took over the running of the PDC - the professional darts body - in April following the retirement of his dad Barry in charge of Matchroom Sport Group.
Barry, 73, was instrumental over two decades in adding razzamatazz to the oche and making the sport profitable and successful.
Yet the younger Hearn, known for his high-profile boxing promotions, has big plans for the sport, which is in the spotlight on Saturday with the World Matchplay in Blackpool.
Legendary Phil Taylor received £60,000 for winning the 2005 world title but that figure was raised to £500,000 when Gerwyn Price won the 2021 Sid Waddell Trophy on January 3.
Hearn said: “The great thing about my old man is that all he ever thinks about is how can we provide more opportunities for dart players?
“How can we make them wealthier, how can we reward them?
“During the Covid period the PDC didn’t touch prize money, they continued to provide opportunities for players.
“I’d love to make the World Championship a million pound first prize. That’s the general crazy plan that we’ll always talk about in board meetings.
“People relate prize money to the stature and size of the sport.
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“If you ask a man in the street how much you get for winning the Worlds in darts, he’d probably say about £10,000 or £25,000.
“So we have to make sure that people are aware of that. People can’t believe how much darts players make. But that’s going to continue to grow from a grassroots level.
“You can follow a dream as a kid to be a footballer. But it’s unusual for a kid to dream of being a darts player.
“I think the job they have done on prize money is sensational.”
Asked if the worlds could ever move from Ally Pally - its home since switching from the Circus Tavern in 2008 - Eddie was adamant it would always remain in North London.
He said: “This is very similar to the Crucible with the World Championship snooker.
“We’ve had so many opportunities to take that to China. And absolutely not is the answer.
“If I went to the board and said take the World Championship away from the Ally Pally, they’d look at me like I was mad. I wouldn’t even suggest it. That’s the commercial beating heart of the sport.
“That’s the showcase event that creates the most sponsorship and TV revenue. To lose that would be a poor decision.”
While Hearn is the new PDC chairman, the running of the sport will remain in safe hands with trusted and long-standing CEO Matt Porter.
There have been concerns by some that he does not have a background in the sport and it could suffer behind his first love of boxing.
Yet Hearn is unapologetic and is determined to finish his time with better figures and betters results than his showman father.
He said: “It just comes down to that competition again. I just want to outperform him.
“If I can do that, darts will be in an unbelievable position. It will be difficult. I’ve done it in boxing and I need that same energy.
“It’s not been easy and it’s come with a love for the sport but also a desire to win and a desire to outperform him.
“For us it’s about development in different countries, it’s about the global expansion of darts.
“There is a mentality of if: ‘It ain’t broke don’t fix it.’ That can be quite a dangerous mentality in the same space.
“I looked at darts a few years ago and think how much more growth is there.
"I’m so envious as head of the boxing department at the numbers, the viewing figures. Darts smashes boxing to pieces.
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“You look at the viewing figures on Sky and they’re unbelievable. But it still has a little bit of a stigma with execs and TV networks.
“The profile of the sport is something we need to keep working on. People don’t understand, until they come and see it, they aren’t believers.”
