Darts ace slams Whitlock's World Series inclusion

VINCENT VAN DER VOORT joked Simon Whitlock "must know something about Barry Hearn" after he secured another World Series call-up.

Whitlock, 57, lost his PDC Tour Card at the start of 2025 but booked his place in this year's Australian Masters and New Zealand Masters by winning the ANZ Premier League.

Former European champion Whitlock has crashed out in the first round on each of his last SIX World Series Finals appearances and will be hoping to end that run on September 17.

Van der Voort questioned how Whitlock continues to receive opportunities on the circuit.

He told the Darts Draait Door Podcast: “They’ll come up with something so he can take part.

“So, he’s in again. And if he doesn’t win next year, they’ll probably say that title is valid for five years.

“Then they’ve got him for another three years after that.

“I think Whitlock knows something about Barry Hearn.”

Presenter Damian Vlottes then pressed Van der Voort on the remark.

Van der Voort quipped: “I don’t know. Maybe he once took a photo of Barry Hearn getting changed in the evening and having a different personality. You never know with Hearn.

“Which, by the way, we’re not condemning. Everyone can do whatever they want in their free time.

“Maybe Whitlock has some snaps of that. If he does, I’d quite like to have them.

“I’d always keep them on me. If I see him, I could just show him he looks good in them. I don’t need anything for it. It’s purely for my own amusement.”

'The Wizard’ endured a difficult 2024 campaign, failing to reach a single ProTour quarter-final and crashing out of the qualification race for five PDC ranked televised events.

Whitlock switched focus to the Seniors tour before it folded, but his campaign at the 2025 World Seniors Championship ended in a 3-1 first-round defeat to Paul Hogan.

Words: Aaron Nijjar

Image: Taylor Lanning