Leading figures in darts outline the future of prize money, TV deals and Ally Pally after the Luke Littler effect
stopped caring you don’t think it’s a sport a long time ago. It’s got bigger and better things to worry about.Another is how to capitalise on the millions of pounds and dollars and Ringgit flowing in from every corner, how to ensure this eclectic collection of former roofers and brickies and meat packers are fairly and handsomely compensated.To the unconverted, this will appear a ludicrous fantasy. But ask anyone inside the game, and they all say the same thing.
The United States is another target area, with a thriving amateur scene but no real coordinated professionalisation. Organising tournaments in the US, Africa or Asia could require amateur players to take long, expensive flights and take time off work for limited prize money. Littler’s 1.3m Instagram followers is double the PDC’s official account, and he has just become the face of his own Topps trading card set, which retailed at £150 per box and is reselling for nearly double that after selling out almost instantly.
“Littler has made a different demographic develop an interest in darts. We’re getting much, much more interest from younger people now, who see darts as a viable hobby or career option.” Meanwhile, a host of older players are simply struggling to keep up, suffering crises of confidence or form. Littler called 28-year-old Belgian Mike De Decker the third-best player in the world last week. This is becoming a young man’s game.“I’m sure you’ll see an influx of 18-to-25 year olds. In five years’ time you could see 75 per cent of the top 32 being under 30.
While Hearn has waxed lyrical about the value of Sky’s loyalty and help in growing the sport’s profile to this point, he’s never been one to deny the players – or himself – some additional cash.Part of this is the promise to double the PDC circuit’s prize money from £20m to £40m – potentially as early as 2025 – which would make the World Championship worth £1m to the victor.
The world champion also says he expects players to have to choose between high level events every week in future, comparing it to rival tennis tours or franchise cricket tournaments.Porter admits this is coming sooner rather than later by the simple fact of there only being 52 weeks in a year, but calls it “a major culture change”.
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