In the electrifying world of professional darts, where precision meets pandemonium under the glare of arena lights, whispers of revolution are stirring. Barry Hearn, the 77-year-old titan behind Matchroom Sport and president of the PDC, has dropped a tantalizing hint: a “crazy” rule change could soon upend the sport he helped transform from smoky pub pastime to global spectacle. Fresh off high-stakes conversations with Saudi Arabia’s entertainment powerhouse Turki Al-Sheikh, Hearn promises an announcement “very soon” that could propel darts into uncharted territory, blending tradition with audacious innovation.
The seeds of this seismic shift were sown ringside at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April, amid the thunderous anticipation of the Chris Eubank Jr. versus Conor Benn boxing clash. There, captured in vivid detail by the newly released Netflix series *Matchroom: The Greatest Showmen*, Al-Sheikh—a visionary architect of Saudi Arabia’s sports renaissance—locked eyes with Hearn patriarch Barry and his son Eddie. The Saudi chairman, whose General Entertainment Authority has bankrolled mega-events like heavyweight boxing bonanzas and a Formula 1 surge, laid his cards on the table. “I said to him [Eddie]: ‘We want the snooker and the darts’,” Al-Sheikh declared, his enthusiasm crackling like a perfectly aimed dart. “I want to do the darts, but I want to do it crazy way. Crazy concept, yeah? Crazy play, something.”
Hearn, ever the shrewd dealmaker who founded Matchroom in a Romford snooker club back in 1982, saw the potential immediately. With a nod to forging enduring alliances, he countered, “We’re on a mission. We want to have relationships with people like you for a long term, in place, and then we want to grow a massive business.” The exchange escalated into a bold pact: Al-Sheikh floated a multi-year commitment, but Hearn pushed for more. “I want a 10-year deal with this. Let’s just go for it. Let’s build a massive global company,” he urged. Al-Sheikh’s response? A resolute “Let’s go.” As Eddie Hearn later reflected in the series, these weren’t casual chats—they marked a pivotal crossroads for Matchroom’s legacy. “This is another big night as we reach a very important time in terms of Matchroom’s future,” he said. “My dad has no relationship with His Excellency. If we’re going to be working together on a deeper level, it’s important.”
At the heart of Al-Sheikh’s intrigue lies darts’ untapped allure in the Middle East, a sport that’s already evolved from its gritty British roots into a £60 million-plus annual juggernaut for Matchroom—outpacing even snooker’s steady draw and the Hearns’ boxing empire. “In Matchroom, the biggest profit earner is darts,” Barry Hearn revealed, crediting the PDC’s globalization under CEO Matt Porter. “We’ve been blessed.” Porter echoed the fervor: “The demand is insane. The number of people applying for tickets this year was the same number as were trying to get tickets for Glastonbury. We’ve done events in about 25 countries. It’s just a staggering amount of money. It’s about the show, it’s about the players, it’s about the atmosphere.” Eddie Hearn, overseeing boxing’s gladiatorial ring, couldn’t hide his envy: darts is “probably twice as profitable” compared to his stable of heavyweights.
Fueling this fire is 18-year-old prodigy Luke Littler, the self-assured sensation whose fearless flair has captivated millions. Hearn calls him a once-in-a-generation force: “More and more people tune in the longer and longer [Littler] goes in an event. And the top players are under the cosh. They’re under pressure. Because all of a sudden, their reputation doesn’t win them games. You’ve got this kid with no fear who just walks onto the stage and takes over the world.” Littler’s Christmas-New Year rampage netted him a cool £1 million— a fortune that dwarfs the £16,000 pried by inaugural PDC world champion Dennis Priestley in 1994. Bolstered by a fresh five-year, £125 million Sky Sports broadcast deal kicking in soon, the 2026 world champ stands to pocket another million on January 3. As Hearn surveys the sold-out Alexandra Palace showdowns, he beams with paternal pride: “When I walk into the arena at Ally Pally, I look at all these guys and girls having a great time. We’ve created this amazing financial vehicle. I feel so proud. I love it. It’s been a long journey and I never saw anything like this.”
Yet, Al-Sheikh’s “crazy” vision isn’t mere hype—it’s a blueprint drawn from his snooker playbook. In March 2024, he unveiled the 20-point “Gold Ball” in Riyadh, a golden orb that unlocked a historic 167 maximum break and a $1 million bounty for potting it after a 147. The gimmick, though unclaimed, exploded with publicity, outshining the tournament itself. Hearn initially balked—”When I heard about the golden ball from Turki, I was shaking. Oh no, no. Don’t start messing with it”—but he now concedes its genius. “It’s had more publicity than the rest of the tournament altogether.” For darts, expect similar twists: perhaps bonus zones on the board, high-stakes tiebreakers, or hybrid formats that amp the drama without eroding credibility. “He’s a smart man,” Hearn mused. “And sometimes we get restricted by the lack of our own imagination. And you can bet your bottom dollar, if and when we do something in Saudi, there’ll be a few twists on it. I have no idea what he’s going to say. But I do know what I’m going to say. Yes, thank you.”
Cultural sensitivities loom large—Hearn addressed the no-alcohol edict head-on in a recent Sky Sports interview: “If you can’t drink in a country where we must respect their traditions and their laws, we don’t drink. Or we don’t go. And if you don’t want to go, don’t go.” But the allure of Saudi’s deep pockets and Al-Sheikh’s unyielding drive—”The one thing about Turki Alalshikh, his excellency, is he doesn’t walk away”—outweighs the hurdles. “Watch this space,” Hearn teased. “Very soon, you’ll hear something about Saudi, they’ll go, oh my god, where is this? Where is this journey going to end? And the answer is, the beautiful answer is, I have no idea. But I know it’s got a long journey ahead of it.”
As darts teeters on the brink of its boldest chapter, Hearn’s dream of a “massive global business” feels tantalizingly close. From Littler’s laser-guided throws to Al-Sheikh’s wild ambitions, the oche is no longer just a line in the sand—it’s a launchpad for a sport ready to rewrite its rules, one audacious dart at a time. The faithful, from pub loyalists to palace royals, can only lean in, breaths held, for the madness to unfold.
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