PDC Chairman
Barry Hearn OBE was revealed as the latest addition to the Hall of Fame during the PDC Awards on Monday night.
Hearn joins the likes of founders Dick Allix and Tommy Cox, legendary commentators such as Dave Lanning and Sid Waddell as well as players such as Phil Taylor and John Part.
Chairman of the PDC since 2001, he has overseen the incredible rise of the sport and after receiving an OBE in the New Years Honours list, it is further recognition in the form of a Hall of Fame spot.
"It's lovely and as I suppose as you get older you treasure these moments even more," said Hearn. "I'm happy to be there with some of those legends who have already been inducted, and it gives you a good feeling.
"We all like a little tap on the back to say well done, and it's very much appreciated by me and the whole Hearn household.
"To stand alongside those other legends is a source of pride, of course, and I think they would agree that it's not the individuals, it's the collective attitude of the PDC, the family, that really believes in what we're doing.
"If I look back on my life, my involvement in the PDC has probably been one of, if not the most successful sides of my promotional sporting life.
"To have the opportunity to take a game ridiculed in some quarters and to make it into this major international global sport, where TV viewing figures are generally only beaten by football, is huge.
"Where we've come from as individuals and as a sport is a testament on what hard work and discipline and sacrifice can do, and there's a message there for everyone.
"We've been on a wonderful journey; the journey is still in progress but we've changed the world of sport through darts. Twenty years ago that journey began, and I think the induction into the PDC Hall of Fame is a pat on the back that we all share."
