Harrington on iteration of Players Championships: "We had to get the professional game out of the pubs"
PDC
PDC Director and two time World Matchplay champion, Rod Harrington has spoke about how the Players Championship events which form part of the Summer Series were born.
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Starting tomorrow there will be five successive Players Championship events and for Harrington, he was a key person involved in the creation of the PDC ProTour with it now being streamed and in environments such as Robin Park Tennis Centre.
This was compared to the old days of leisure centres and he ran through how it all happened ahead of this week's action.
"We had to get the professional game out of the pubs and holiday camps," said Harrington.
"Even as recently as the mid-2000s, UK Open Qualifiers used to be played in pubs, until we had a think tank meeting in Portugal around the time Matt Porter had started to work in the PDC.
"We all agreed that in order for the game to progress, the playing conditions had to become more professional, which meant taking the game out of pubs.
"Barry Hearn backed the proposals financially and the ProTour system has continued to develop ever since.
"I have to pay huge credit to the late [former Tournament Director] Tommy Cox, and to current PDC Head of Production Mark Leak and his team who built the playing cubicles to the exact specification we had in mind.
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"When players come to play in the PDC now they always remark at how professional the playing set-up is, and it's been a real team effort to achieve those standards. In terms of finances, we've seen prize money increase from £12,000 in 2002 to £75,000 per event in 2020, including £10,000 for the winner.
"Overall, I think they've proved to be one of the best things to happen in the game's development."
Q-School development - "In no other sport would you find amateur players competing against the elite"
Players must win their Tour Cards at PDC Qualifying School with Gerwyn Price among the players to come through and he also spoke about that system.
"In no other sport would you find amateur players competing against the elite," Harrington continued.
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"I couldn't turn up on the PGA Tour and tee off with Tiger Woods, I couldn't turn up at Man United and say 'I fancy a game today', but that's what was happening in darts.
"To improve the game professionally we had to turn it around so we introduced the Qualifying School system, mirroring golf. We spoke to the heads of many sporting bodies to try and take a bit from each, but golf was the main sport we wanted to try to emulate.
"From there, we've brought in the Challenge and Development Tours so that there is now a proper system in place for all players to progress through. There's still so much that can be done, and I'm sure the PDC will continue to evolve the ProTour over the coming years and decades."
https://twitter.com/OfficialPDC/status/1280534509285519361?s=20

Samuel GillChief Content Officer
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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- 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
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026






