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The Irish Sun
13-05-2025
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Barry Hearn names ‘next darts' as he reveals sport that will be massive in five years
BARRY HEARN named the next sport he reckons will take off like darts within five years. The Matchroom founder and president, 76, has been involved in promoting sport for more than 50 years. Advertisement 7 Luke Littler earned £500,000 for winning the World Darts Championship Credit: AFP 7 Barry Hearn reckons another of Matchroom's sports is on the rise Credit: Getty His company played an instrumental role in the roaring success of snooker and boxing. But arguably Hearn's greatest impact came through his role as chairman of the Professional Darts Corporation, where the prize money for the And He told SunSport: 'Life's about a series of small steps upwards, but we don't want to go down the snake. We want to keep using the ladder. Advertisement READ MORE ON BARRY HEARN 'It's going to be a long journey but darts was a long journey and we've done a fantastic job with it. 'I think we can do the same with nine-ball pool. 'Matchroom has tried probably 16 different sports. We stick with sports for quite a long time before we say it's not working and we've never had that decision to make on pool because each year it's got a little bit bigger. 'The reason we've chosen nine-ball pool is because it's a truly global game. It's played all over the world. It's not as big as snooker in the UK, but it's massive in South-East Asia and North America. Advertisement Most read in Sport CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 'Last year's Mosconi Cup was the first-ever million-dollar game in pool history so we're getting somewhere. 'The progress we've made with the Mosconi Cup tells me it's going to be quite a long job, but we're not going anywhere. Barry Hearn left stunned by 10-year-old 'next Luke Littler' who can't even reach double 20 'As long as we're growing bit by bit every year, I think in the next five years, we can turn nine-ball pool into another darts.' Advertisement Hearn has been in sport for long enough to know that money talks. And it will be the continued increase in cash that proves the ultimate litmus test to determine pool's progress. The ex-Leyton Orient owner added: 'Given the right time and the right support from broadcasters and sponsors, which we're fortunate to get, we can change the game and make it into something globally. "Who would have seriously imagined a darts player getting £1m [for the worlds]? Only a handful of years ago, it was £10,000, £20,000, £30,000. Advertisement 'If you take darts, we've gone from £400,000 prize money for the year to £25m. 'For snooker, £3.5m when the game was just about to fold, it was in a dreadful state. That's gone past £20m. 'We're at $5m or $6m (£3.8-£4.5m) for pool so it's a huge amount to make up. 'But we have the expertise to do it. It just doesn't happen overnight. Advertisement 'When you build a house, the foundations have got to be right. And if you do the right job on that, when you get to the roof, everyone's happy. 'Players want prize money. That's the most important thing of any game.' 7 Aloysius Yapp got his hands on pool's UK Open and the £30,000 winner's cheque Credit: Matchroom Pool 7 The Mosconi Cup is now pool's first $1million event Credit: Getty Advertisement Luke Littler prize money breakdown Here is all the prize money Luke Littler has won so far after being crowned 2025 PDC World Darts Championship winner: World Championship 2025 - £500,000 World Championship 2024 - £200,000 Grand Slam of Darts 2024 - £150,000 European Tour - £91,000 Player Championships events - £71,500 Players Championship final runner-up - £60,000 UK Open 2023 + 2024 - £17,500 World Matchplay - £10,000 World Grand Prix - £7,500 European Championship - £7,500 (Unranked) Premier League Darts - £315,000 TOTAL: £1.43 million Hearn is quick to give praise to Emily Fraser who heads up the pool division for Matchroom, which is putting on more and more events. One of those was last week's UK Open in Telford, where Aloysius Yapp lifted the trophy and scooped the £30,000 winner's cheque. And while Hearn is used to promoting sport's top stars, this time he lined up against them. Hearn, Advertisement The veteran became the He faced 2024 European Open champion and Mosoni Cup hero Mickey Krause in the first round - and unsurprisingly was crushed 9-0. But a beaming Hearn has practised pool every day since competing at last August's US Open and still has huge ambitions to achieve as a player. I just got slaughtered by the European champion. But hey-ho. Bizarrely, I loved it. Barry Hearn He reflected: 'I've spent 50 years of my life promoting sport but I've very rarely got over that line to where my heroes are playing. Advertisement 'This is a chance for me to actually feel what it's like. It's a pretty awesome feeling, even when you're missing balls or sitting down for extended periods. 'You're rubbing shoulders with greatness. 'I watched from my chair some of the best pool I've ever seen from Mickey Krause. He beat me 9-0. I missed two shots in nine racks and never got a look in. 'I just got slaughtered by the European champion. But hey-ho. Advertisement 'Bizarrely, I loved it. 'I've got the bug big time. Obviously, I'm not going to suddenly improve to being a world-class player. 'One day I want to be the dominant factor but at the moment, my backside is getting a good kicking. 'I've always been a very good loser. But I've never lost my enthusiasm for participation in anything that's competitive.' Advertisement 7 Hearn loved his experience playing in pool's UK Open - despite the thumping defeat Credit: SunSport 7 Zhao Xintong earned £500,000 for becoming China's first snooker world champion Credit: AFP 7 Hearn with his son Eddie and boxer Anthony Joshua, represented by Matchroom Credit: Getty Advertisement
The Sun
01-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
‘I want more respect.. it comes down to hard cash' – Snooker chief Barry Hearn offers huge update on future of Crucible
BARRY HEARN expects the future of the Snooker World Championship to be decided by the end of this year – and it 'comes down to hard cash'. Positive informal talks were held on Thursday morning with Hearn and Sheffield City Council officials and they will all meet again in three months' time. The contract to stay at the Crucible expires in 2027 and Hearn, 76, wants more 'respect' shown as the parties try to negotiate a new deal. Hearn, president of Matchroom Sport, has threatened to take the event away from its spiritual home of Sheffield and perhaps go abroad, especially given his close business ties to Saudi Arabia. Plans to expand the 980-seater venue are one option but there are limitations to what can be done and within an appropriate time frame. It is likely a site fee, boosted by government funding, might be written into the next contract should a compromise be reached. Hearn, who managed Steve Davis during his six world championship wins, said: 'I want a bit more respect. We love Sheffield. We love the Crucible. 'In any relationship if the other side doesn't love you back, it's destined for failure. 'So, at the moment we're engaged and I'm hoping in the next few months we're going to get married again. Let's keep our fingers crossed. 'I was impressed with the passion and commitment that Sheffield Council have got for snooker. We view the Crucible as the home of snooker. 'But again, we have to live in the real world. We agreed to meet in another three months with a view to knowing exactly where we are by the end of this year. And the pressure is on. 'Both sides are really happy here with each other, but we can't turn away from the realities of sports life, which is centred around prize money. 'We have to do something big for the players because they deserve it. This event's going to be seen by 300-400 million people. Does it get the respect? 'So the talks went well. There was a frank exchange of the problems that we face. 'I think both of us agree that this is something where Sheffield can only go so far, but with government assistance it can go further and it can be maintained. 'So the onus is still on Sheffield to come up with something in line with government, in line with our thinking of where the game stands in terms of prestige and respect. 'This is a major event in England. But there's a huge amount of money outside of the UK to stage the World Snooker Championship. 'Give me the respect. Help me to do what I want to do and I won't be outrageous in my demands. I feel we're both on the same side. I'm a little more optimistic today than I was yesterday.' The PDC have bumped up the prize money for the World Darts champion to £1million this Christmas and Hearn wants to do the same for a future snooker conqueror. 1 Yet he has no plans to change the format of the tournament – so it will be kept to 17 days of action involving 32 players and with 71 frames needed to be the best. Britain's leading sports promoter said: 'The game's in good shape. We have some problems, of course, Sheffield being one of them. And the other one is prize money. 'As much as it sounds pretty barbaric, it all comes down to pound notes. 'Darts players are going to be multimillionaires and snooker players need to catch them up. 'Hopefully, if all goes well, we can start thinking about a million-pound first prize instead of £500,000 for snooker. That's clearly on the agenda as quickly as we can. 'We can sell this place out a dozen times if we wanted to. We need a halfway house. 'There's a value to Sheffield City Council for having it in Sheffield. It comes down to hard cash. 'So, show me the money, show me the way forward, and hopefully we can sign another 10-year deal at the Crucible.'
