"I really hope that’s never a decision I have to make": Could Winter Gardens outgrow World Matchplay? PDC Chief Matt Porter on move away from Blackpool

The PDC’s continued growth has created both opportunities and difficult decisions for the organisation behind darts’ biggest events. From record-breaking demand for tickets to the expansion of the World Championship and fierce debate around Premier League selections, Chief Executive Matt Porter admits the sport is navigating a remarkable period.

Speaking to Online Darts at the UK Open, Porter discussed the future of the World Matchplay in Blackpool, the decision to expand the World Championship at Alexandra Palace and the tough calls involved in selecting the Premier League field – including the omission of Danny Noppert.

Few venues in darts carry the same historic weight as the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, home of the World Matchplay since the tournament began in 1994. Despite unprecedented demand for tickets, Porter insists moving the event is something he hopes never happens. "I really hope not,” Porter said when asked whether commercial pressure could ever force the event away from Blackpool. “I really hope that’s never a decision I have to make – and if it is, hopefully it’s somebody else’s decision.

“As much as Alexandra Palace is synonymous with the World Championship, the history of the World Matchplay only exists at the Winter Gardens. The event is only what it is because of that venue, so I think that would be a really unwelcome move.”

Demand for tickets for the 2025 event has once again been extraordinary, but Porter believes the tournament’s continued presence in Blackpool also benefits the town itself. “It’s crazy, but it’s also great for Blackpool,” he said. “Blackpool’s such an archetypal, classic British summertime town. It may have had difficult times in recent years, but it’s having a bit of a resurgence. They’ve spent a lot of money on the seafront there and there’s a lot of investment going into Blackpool and bringing more content to the town and more profile to it.

“It’s one of those fits that just works. We’re lucky that we’ve got that with so many of our events where the ingredients just blend together really nicely, and I think that’s one of them.”

While the World Matchplay will remain in its traditional home, the PDC has made a significant change to the sport’s biggest event.

Before the most recent World Championship began, the organisation confirmed the tournament would remain at Alexandra Palace but move into the venue’s much larger Great Hall in the future.

The change will increase the capacity to just over 5,000 spectators per session.

“It was mainly technical things,” Porter explained. “Technology has moved on and some things at Alexandra Palace are a little bit more flexible now than they perhaps were in the past.

“It’s a heavily listed building and there are a lot of restrictions and covenants that come with that, but there are certain things that are able to be dealt with now that weren’t in previous years.”

The decision was also driven by extraordinary demand for tickets. “The West Hall is an amazing venue for the event and generates a fantastic atmosphere,” Porter said. “But clearly it’s not great when we sell out in 15 minutes.

“I want to be able to turn around to people and say you can get a ticket. I want to be able to turn around to the players and say we are growing the event. So it was just a nice coming together of circumstances at the right time.”

Porter also reflected on the scale of the most recent World Championship, which he believes has reached a point where record-breaking numbers are no longer surprising. “I felt the overall profile of the event rose another level this year,” he said. “It’s almost at a point now where the numbers aren’t a surprise – they’re an expectation.

“That’s really important because it shows that it’s here to stay as a global sporting phenomenon.”

The tournament’s worldwide appeal was underlined by storylines emerging from across the globe, with players from countries such as Kenya, India and New Zealand capturing attention during the event.

“It was really vindicating for the system that we’ve put in place,” Porter said. “Players coming through those routes now to the event are more than capable of competing on that stage.”

The sport’s global profile has also been boosted by teenage sensation Luke Littler, who continues to reach audiences beyond darts. “It’s almost become what we’re used to now,” Porter said of Littler’s appearances at events such as the Brit Awards and the Laureus Sports Awards. They’re just places that darts hasn’t been before. It’s phenomenal recognition for Luke first and foremost and after that for the sport.”

Porter believes Littler’s success means the conversation is shifting away from his age and towards his achievements. “Before it was, ‘Wow, he’s 16 and he’s qualified for the World Championship.’ Then it was, ‘He’s reached the final,’ then he wins the World Championship at 17 or 18.

“Now he’s 19 – it’s just a number. The achievement becomes the talking point.”

Another major talking point at the start of the season was the selection of the Premier League line-up.

Porter admitted it was one of the most difficult decisions in recent years, with several players making strong cases for inclusion. “It was the hardest for a long time,” he said. “We genuinely didn’t get down to the final eight until about an hour before we announced it. There were a lot of opinions and a lot of statistical evidence taken into consideration, as well as people’s thoughts and views.”

Among the players who narrowly missed out was Dutch star Danny Noppert, who Porter felt was particularly unfortunate. “I felt Danny Noppert was extremely unlucky,” he admitted. “I spoke to Danny when I saw him in Saudi Arabia and he was very mature about the situation – he understood.”

Porter added that several other players were also in the conversation, including Nathan Aspinall and James Wade. “Not everybody can get picked and not every decision will be popular,” he said. “We just make a decision in good faith as what we feel is right at the time.”

He also defended the players who were selected, insisting criticism aimed at them was misplaced. “I felt a lot of the comments about a couple of the players’ inclusions were really unfair to those players,” Porter said. "I don’t think there was anybody in there who you couldn’t say justified a selection."

“Just because somebody else may have justified one in your eyes, that doesn’t mean the person who got picked didn’t justify one as well.”