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.
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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 World Championship victor will double to a whopping £1million for the 2026 tournament.
And Hearn is hoping to see a similar progression for another sport in the Matchroom stable: pool.
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.
“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.
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“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.
“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.”
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.
“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.
“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.”
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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, ex-Olympic gymnast Nile Wilson and broadcaster Andy Goldstein were among the 256-player field – which featured the world’s top 128 pro players on the World Nineball Tour which Matchroom runs.
The veteran became the oldest person to appear in a professional pool tournament in the UK.
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.
“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.
“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.”
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