TURKI AL-SHEIKH LOOKS TO BUY INTO DARTS

TURKI AL-SHEIKH has revealed he wants to get involved in running darts and bring a ‘crazy’ new concept to the sport.

The Saudi Arabian politician – who has already transformed boxing by bringing mega fights to the Kingdom – is now turning his eyes towards the oche. 

Al-Sheikh, one of the most powerful men in world sport, has a huge amount of money to splash and has told Barry and Eddie Hearn he wants to take darts global in a bold new way. 

Speaking in new Netflix series Matchroom: The Greatest Showmen, the Saudi chief said: “I want to do the darts, but I want to do it crazy way.  

“Crazy concept, yeah? Crazy play, something.” 

The 44-year-old previously created the 20-point “Gold Ball” in snooker, introduced during a Riyadh tournament staged in March 2024.  

That innovation made a 167 break possible and offered a staggering $1million (£733,000) bonus for anyone able to sink it. 

Now darts could be next in line for a shake-up. 

Talks were captured by Netflix cameras during April’s Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn fight at Tottenham, as Al-Sheikh sat ringside with Matchroom bosses. 

Eddie Hearn admitted the discussions could shape the company’s future. 

He said: “This is another big night as we reach a very important time in terms of Matchroom’s future. 

“My dad has no relationship with His Excellency. If we’re going to be working together on a deeper level, it’s important. 

“This is even out of my depth, because it’s his company. It starts with him, it ends with him.” 

Barry added: “Every journey comes to an end. What do you wanna do? Tell me. And if it makes me smile, then we have a deal.” 

While sitting ringside before the main event, Eddie said: “Your Excellency, I explained to him about our conversations, about our deal with…” 

Al-Sheikh interrupted Eddie to make his ambitions clear: “And I said to him: ‘We want the snooker and the darts’.”

Barry replied: “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. 

“Because we can do anything, and we’re honest. And we need partners the same. 

“We’re very choosy on our partners. It’s not just the money. It’s the relationship where we can work together. 

“This is your legacy, Your Excellency. And this will be something that will go down in history.” 

Al-Sheikh then offered: “I can give you a long contract, three, four, five years.” 

But Barry pushed back: “I want a 10-year deal with this. Let’s just go for it. Let’s build a massive global company.” 

Al-Sheikh replied simply: “Let’s go.” 

According to PDC CEO Matt Porter, “darts turns over north of £60m a year” while Eddie says it outperforms his boxing stable and is “probably twice as profitable”. 

And with a record-breaking £1million on offer for the 2026 World Champion plus a new £125m five-year Sky Sports TV deal, the sport is only getting bigger. 

Barry summed up the negotiations bluntly: “As enthusiastic as Turki is, I trust contracts more than I trust people. I need to see it in black and white.”