Barry Hearn admits he is stunned by how popular Premier League Darts has become.
Hearn look ahead to another huge year
"If you'd told me what would happen to Premier League Darts five years ago I would have given you a white jacket and sent you to the funny farm!"
As Barry Hearn looks ahead to another record-breaking season of Premier League Darts, the tournament he devised in conjunction with
Sky Sports just five years ago, he struggles to comprehend the monster he has created.
The first ever Premier League night was held at the King's Hall in Stoke-on-Trent in 2005, but the success of the tournament means that the 2010 season will kick off at the O2 Arena in London, a venue more commonly associated with world famous pop stars such as Madonna or Britney Spears.
Hearn believes the O2 Arena curtain raiser will take the sport to an even higher level - and he can't wait.
"It's a phenomenon," he told
skysports.com.
"We started off four years ago in front of audiences of 600 people - and now we're at the O2 where conservatively we will have 10,000 people. That would be a new world record, beating the 8,200 from Liverpool last year.
"I think we'll smash that at the O2 and their people are saying: 'wouldn't it be fun to have 16,000 people in?'
"That is just going to be the wildest night of all."
Value
Hearn believes the success of the Premier League - and darts in general - is down to the value-for-money it provides for spectators.
And that is why he is expecting another scramble when tickets for next year's Premier League, which is being held across 15 UK venues between February and May, go on sale next month.
"Until you've been to a Premier League Darts match you'll have no idea of the noise and the unbelievable atmosphere," he said.
"We know we're in a recession, but we sold 80,000 tickets last year and it's not as if we can do much bigger.
"We already go to the biggest arenas in the country; there isn't anywhere bigger than the Odyssey in Belfast or the Manchester Evening News Arena... we're in every single major arena in the country and we're selling out.
"This has captured everyone's imagination. It is just a fun night out.
"I think in this recessionary age where people are looking for value for money, a £20 or £30 Premier League ticket is their night out for the week.
"They bloody well make sure they enjoy it!"
Motivation
While the Premier League has proved to be a fan-friendly night out, Hearn also insists it acts as a major motivation for the players.
With eight spots on offer - six going to the top ranked players following December's World Championship and two wildcards - the fight is on all year round to snatch a lucrative place in the Premier League
And Hearn believes that adds to the tension at each and every PDC event on the annual darts calendar.
"If you get into the Premier League you become a superstar overnight," Hearn continued.
"Because of
Sky Sports' production, and the way they promote it, these guys become household names.
"This means their sponsorship value goes up and their exhibition prices go up. Apart from the £400,000 prize money, their earnings shoot up because those eight are
the faces of darts.
"All year the players are thinking 'how close am I to the top six?' There's now a dogfight going on.
"Phil Taylor, James Wade, Raymond van Barneveld and Mervyn King are certainties. Then there's Terry Jenkins, John Part, Colin Lloyd, Ronnie Baxter, Colin Osborne and Robert Thornton scrapping it out.
"Then of course, the newcomers are wondering what they've got to do to get a wildcard. Your Gary Andersons, your Simon Whitlocks have a carrot dangling over their heads."
Earning
Hearn pointed to the phenomenal earning power of the game's top stars as another example of the game's growth in recent years.
World champion Phil Taylor is a multi-millionaire, but Hearn feels he deserves all of the riches that have come his way.
"Every time he plays he rings me up to ask what the first prize is," Hearn said.
"It's not in a nasty way though! He said to me 'Barry, if I win every major from now until the end of the year, I'll win £600,000. I used to get £75 a week as a factory worker!'
"There's two phrases that always come to mind when I think about darts. The first is it's better to be born lucky than good looking.
"Secondly, it's all about being in the right place at the right time - which these boys are.
"In my day darts players never thought they'd see a £200,000 prize for the World Championship or £125,000 for the Premier League.
"Premier League footballers put a weird bias on things because everyone is on stupid money. While it is fantastic to watch, you don't feel much of an affinity towards some of the people.
"The average Sky subscriber lives in the real world. He will look at these guys earning £2million a year and think 'good luck to him'."
