Barry Hearn announces major change for World Darts Championship and reveals iconic Ally Pally could be ditched

BARRY HEARN says the main gully of the PDC World Darts Championship volition summation to 128 players for the 2025/26 edition.

And the seasoned sports promoter is exploring an enactment to determination darts’ flagship lawsuit distant from Alexandra Palace successful North London, its location since December 2007.

The Matchroom President wants to “grow” the athletics successful the twelvemonth that 17-year-old Luke Littler has emerged arsenic a satellite starring fig – due to the fact that helium fears the interaction of “complacency” successful a business.

A tract of 96 players volition beryllium progressive successful the 2024/2025 tournament, which starts astatine Ally Pally connected Sunday December 15.

Yet the Professional Darts Corporation has been boosted by the velocity successful which tickets were hoovered up by the nationalist for the 16-day event.

Increasing the fig of players by 32 for the Worlds successful 13 months’ clip – erstwhile a caller Sky Sports TV woody should kick-in – volition mean an other 32 matches crossed 8 sessions and implicit FOUR further days earlier Christmas.

This would make a level 128-player gully which, similar the Wimbledon singles competitions, would mean 1 subordinate would person to triumph SEVEN matches to go the wide champion.

Speaking to Jeff Stelling connected talkSPORT meal show, Hearn, 76, said: “For the satellite title this year, 90,000 tickets sold retired successful 15 minutes.

“I asked my radical successful caput office, ‘tell me, however galore could I person sold?

“They said, determination implicit 300,000. Now that puts a antithetic accent connected it.

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“Same arsenic erstwhile we moved from the Circus Tavern each those years ago, present I’m looking astatine Alexandra Palace.

“And I’m saying, well, it lone holds 3,500. I person to turn each the time. If you ever get complacent you spell backwards.

“So, adjacent twelvemonth we volition spell from 96 to 128 players. We volition adhd 4 much days, which is 8 sessions, which is different 25,000 tickets.

“Sooner oregon later, I should beryllium looking and saying: ‘Do you know, similar with snooker, I request a bigger venue.’

“I mean I tin merchantability retired immoderate arena successful the world. But tin I bash it for 30 oregon 40 sessions?

“That’s the cardinal contented due to the fact that the ambiance makes it a large night. We sold 1,500 tickets for the Premier League last this year.

“And we advertised it that you cannot spot the signifier from these seats. People bought the tickets. They wanted to beryllium a portion of the show.”

In December 2018, the lawsuit saw 1 of its biggest changes erstwhile the fig of participants accrued from 72 to 96.

Only 24 radical took portion successful the archetypal ever PDC Worlds, which were staged astatine the Circus Tavern successful Essex crossed 1993/94.