Barry Hearn has revealed the future of the World Championship at Alexandra Palace is "under discussion" due to the impact of 17-year-old sensation Luke Littler on the sport.
Hearn has compared the prodigy to Tiger Woods, describing him as "the gift that keeps on giving" following his explosive entrance into mainstream darts. Littler announced his arrival with a record-breaking run to the PDC World Darts Championship final at Christmas, and then went on to win the Premier League last week, making him one of the most recognised sports stars in the country.
Alexandra Palace, which has been hosting the premier tournament since 2008 and is seen as the home of the sport, has a limited capacity of 3,200 and tickets sell out in July before even going on general sale. Matchroom president Hearn, who is also dealing with a similar issue in snooker at the Crucible, is contemplating expanding the size of the tournament, but maintains that the Professional Darts Corporation is keeping all options open.
"Do we need to move to a bigger venue? The bigger hall at Ally Pally needs a lot of work done to it but it could handle 6,000 people per session," Hearn said.
"So there is the potential. But the other side of it is the game of darts around the world is getting so huge I actually need to make the World Championship longer. If I have got eight extra sessions I have got 25,000 more tickets to sell. But inevitably in the end we are going to be looking at what we are going to do.
"It is one step at a time, I am not a gambler, but sometimes you get a curveball like Luke Littler and you have to rethink your strategy." We reckon we could sell 250,000 tickets for the World Championship and they wouldn't fit in the Ally Pally.
"It's one step at a time, we are looking at the big hall but it needs a lot of work done. We are keeping our options open because we have learned with Luke Littler that you sometimes can't see what is coming. It's under discussion with everybody."
Littler has already stepped up to become more than just an athlete, featuring on weekend chat shows and renowned podcasts as well as presenting a Brit Award. Hearn believes that Littler can take darts to "another level in the stratosphere".
"This is going to a level we have not come across before," he added. "Darts is a massive business, but we have gone to another level in the stratosphere. It's not a massive surprise but it's the best 2024 present I could have asked for. I have had broadcasters around the world queuing up, sponsors wanting to see what's available, reports from future events selling out. Rather than it peter out, it is gaining momentum. I call it now the Luke Littler effect, the gift that keeps on giving.
"I would compare him to the British version of Tiger Woods. He has his feet on the ground and doesn't seem to get phased, for a 17-year-old that is just amazing. I just think that darts hasn't even started in where it is going to go globally. I have been in this business for 50 years and I have never seen anything like this in any sport, it's as simple as that."
