"If the top players keep withdrawing from Euro Tours, that's a problem” – PDC leadership comes under fire after not addressing fans concerns

Vincent van der Voort has criticised on the Darts Draait Door podcast the way PDC CEO Matt Porter is handling the growing debate around top players withdrawing from Euro Tours and other tournaments. According to the former professional, the PDC is downplaying the issue, while the consequences for the sport are becoming increasingly visible.

The debate arose after Porter expressed understanding in an interview with Oche 180 for players who choose to skip certain Euro Tours or other events. A remark that immediately went down badly with Van der Voort. He basically said I understand the players. I'd probably do the same myself," Van der Voort said. “I don't think that's the best way to promote your own product”

The Dutchman believes the PDC is currently underestimating the impact of top players pulling out. Especially when several big names are missing at the same time at a Euro Tour event, Van der Voort sees a threat to the circuit’s appeal.

“He tries to make it sound like a small issue and says they're not worried about it,” said Van der Voort. “But it is something you should be concerned about. If the top players keep withdrawing from Euro Tours, that's a problem. You can't tell me spectators will keep turning up indefinitely if the biggest names are absent every time."

According to Van der Voort, the issue isn’t about surprise finalists or lesser-known winners, but about the absence of the absolute crowd-pullers throughout the weekend. He cited the recent Euro Tour final between Ryan Joyce and Luke Woodhouse as an example. A final he has no issue with in itself, provided the big names were present earlier in the tournament.

“If everyone enters and those players reach the final, then they've absolutely earned it. No problem at all,” said Van der Voort. “They're fantastic players. The issue is when so many top players don't show up”

But when virtually the entire world elite is missing, the situation changes completely in his view. “People buy tickets to see certain players,” he said. “The Premier League stars are the biggest names in darts right now, and if none of them are there, that's disappointing.”

Van der Voort also believes the issue runs deeper than players simply withdrawing. In his view, the current structure means the absolute elite is hardly under pressure to play everything. “The biggest problem is that the top 16 players are very secure now,” he stated. “We don't really have much new talent breaking through.”

Van der Voort argues that this isn’t necessarily due to a lack of talent, but rather how difficult it has become to truly break through on the Pro Tour. “They can't get through. It's incredibly difficult,” he said. “Look at the European Championship field. There are 32 players. How many of them came through qualifying events? Hardly any.”

He cited Cristo Reyes as an example, who is currently holding his own impressively among the established names. “Cristo Reyes, because he has done exceptionally well, people talk about him all the time. Last year there were maybe one or two similar examples."

The podcast also referenced comments from Barry Hearn, who recently indicated he sees little reason to push through major changes to, for example, the Premier League Darts.

“Barry Hearn also recently said that if something isn't broken, there's no need to fix it,” Van der Voort said. “Which suggests there's a good chance the Premier League stays exactly the same next year.”

Van der Voort does acknowledge, however, that the PDC has far more data and insights than outsiders. “To be fair, they see all the figures and all the data, so they have more information than we do,” he said. “But with the Euro Tour specifically, I think it could become a real problem if things continue like this.”

Yet Van der Voort also believes there may be a fundamental difference in how the sport is viewed. “The problem may be that we look at darts primarily as a sport,” he concluded. “Whereas the PDC probably sees it as part sport and part entertainment.”