HEARN ADMITS LITTLER IS MAKING DARTS TOO BIG FOR THE CALENDAR
16/09/2025 By Aaron Nijjar
BARRY HEARN admits Luke Littler has boosted darts’ popularity so much that there simply aren’t enough days in the calendar to fit all the events fans want.
PDC chairman Hearn has said that “main man” Littler is one of the reasons behind the sport’s rapid growth in recent years.
World No.2 Littler has already won SIX major events at just 18-years-old after bursting on to the scene at the 2024 World Championship.
Matchroom boss Barry Hearn praised Littler for taking the sport’s global popularity to new heights.
He said: “It’s [darts] just getting bigger and bigger.
“I’m actually having a problem that there is only 365 days in a year!
“The demand worldwide is so huge that I could fill that twice.
“It’s non stop. The players are responding with performances beyond what I’ve ever seen in my life, in terms of averages and checkouts.
“Led by the main man Luke Littler, who is fast becoming a phenomenon.”
The increased interest in darts has meant an increase in prize money too.
This year’s World Championship will be worth a whopping £1MILLION to the winner – double last year’s jackpot.
In addition, there has been a total increase of £7MILLION across the PDC calendar thanks to a historic Sky Sports £125million five-year TV deal.
Hearn added: “This is the first year where our prize money goes past £25million, World Championship is worth £1million, more European events because of demand in Europe.
“The Premier League is heading out of the UK and going to Belgium, it’s non stop.”
Image by Taylor Lanning.
