Barry Hearn risks getting slaughtered after naming his top five darters: ''Everyone's got an opinion"
PDC
Barry Hearn has been involved in the darts world for several decades. First the British businessman was the chairman of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), and today the 76-year-old Hearn is active in the role of president at the PDC.
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In his own podcast, which goes by the name The Barry Hearn Show podcast, Hearn named the five players he believes are the five best darters of all time. In an earlier episode of his podcast, Hearn talked about the five best snooker players ever, which brought him criticism.
"Well, I got slaughtered when we talked about the snooker players because, of course, everyone's got an opinion. They've got favourites and certain players have done things at certain times that would put them into that category and they weren't in mine. And so that caused some controversy," he said.
Hearn then explained the criteria he uses to compile his list. "But you have to remember I'm looking at things from a perspective of sustainability, from consistency, from delivering over a period of time, most of the time."
Based on that, he said there could only be one player at number one.
"When I look at darts there is a battle in my mind between the great Phil Taylor – who’s about to hang up his darting boots after an amazing career where he’s changed the face of the sport on his own – and Michael van Gerwen, who stepped into Phil’s boots and did a fabulous job.
"He threw huge averages consistently throughout his career and [won] sixteen world titles. You can't ignore that.
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"So despite the quality that is out there today, I'm still giving the number one spot to Phil Taylor."
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He then named Dutch star Van Gerwen in second place due to his "decade of dominance" and "averages that we humans don't even dream of".
Then Hearn started to struggle as he weighed up names such as Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright, before he eventually landed on Scot Gary Anderson - a two-time world champion.
He said: "He's won a couple of world championships and he’s won consistently over the last 10, 12, 15 years."
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Fourth went to Raymond van Barneveld as Hearn continued: "Now I’m getting into the multi competitive layers.
"I’m gonna have to put Raymond van Barneveld in there for his consistency over the years.
"He won BDO titles; PDC titles and was involved in some of the classic games with Phil Taylor."
For the final spot, Hearn gave an honourable mention to Eric Bristow - who won five WDF world titles and is a legend of the game.
Reigning world champion Luke Humphries also narrowly missed out despite being discussed.
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That is because Hearn feels Luke Littler - at the age of just 17 - already makes it into fifth spot.
He said: "I’m a big fan of Luke Littler. I think this kid is gonna be special. And I’m gonna probably spoil him by elevating him to number five already.
"By the way, that puts him above Luke Humphries, and I’m not sure that's fair either because Luke looks as if he’s gonna be a dominating force in the next few years.
"But, as of today, when I judge Luke Littler, I don’t just judge him as a great darts player. I judge him as a person that has changed the sport, elevated it."
He continued: "What we're seeing with Luke Littler is going to be followed by other kids because I see Wessel Nijman and Mike de Decker coming through too. These kids can play and they’re knocking in 110 averages. The depth in talent is scary.
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"But Luke Littler, even in his less than a year on the tour, has made more of an impact commercially than any other player I have seen during my 20-odd years.
"So I’m gonna spoil the young man by making him my number five, and I’m going apologise to Luke Humphries because I think on an achievement basis, he looks like he could dominate for years to come.
👀 Barry's TOP 5 darts players DOESN'T include the current world champion...
— BarryHearnShow (@HearnShow) November 7, 2024
🚨 Find out why 👉 https://t.co/b0CYBJyFcu
👇 Who did make the 🐐 list... 👇 pic.twitter.com/8SDeEOSfvQ
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Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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- So what if littler missed out, he doesnt have to enter everythingant10-11-2026
- Good, absolutely no loss if we never see this dancing goof ever again......no that is not fair. He absolutely cannot and has never been remotely able to dance!richieburnettrocks10-11-2026
- Yes Phil,now the money in the game is bigger than ever,you'd play littler. Well so would I! Retire on your memory Phil,and your successful careerrick6709-11-2026
- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026