"If you're a top player, behave like a top player" - Barry Hearn offers daunting warning to top players skipping tournaments

Prize money has been a huge talking point in darts since it got increased in tournaments. This now offers players a great opportunity to make it big in darts. While this is the case, withdrawals in tournaments are still proving to be a huge noticeable factor among the top players in the world. In an interview with Online Darts, Hearn spoke up on these problems while also indicating the warning signs if they are to miss too many events.

Hearn credited himself with the system in place as he sends out a stark warning for the players if they do not compete regularly. "To be honest with you, I'm such a fan of the overall system, and I'm going to take all the credit for it. Of course, it wasn't just me. I like the idea, and people can criticise lots of things. They do in lots of our sports," he admitted.

"But the idea of your ranking list being built on prize money means that if you miss too many events, your ranking is going to go down. We've seen that accelerate with the increased prize money. You'll get more volatility in the rankings."

He ticked off some examples. "So people that you thought were going to be safe for five years, you don't know. We put names to it because it doesn't matter. They know. They see the evidence. Peter Wright, Michael Smith, people that have had problems with injury or whatever, you can dive down, which means you've got to make the most of every opportunity. Which means you don't tend, sensibly, to miss too many events."

It is also a boost for other players on the PDC Tour. "We've had a few players that have missed a few events and suddenly realised, 'Nathan Aspinall, well, crikey, is he going to qualify for this or that?' And he's a top player. So I don't want to lose top players, but I think the system is so good that it actually encourages other people. So when I see a few big names not in a Pro Tour event, I'm genuinely quietly happy."

The Players Championship events specifically have seen some big withdrawals as of late from many of the top players. Hearn continues to dismiss this. "One, we don't sell tickets. Two, it's a complete meritocracy, which I love. It's about ability, not about talk. It's about what you do on the oche. And when I see those big names, I love it because, as you know, I still alter my rankings.

Every win earned is a boost in the rankings. "You see someone get £15,000, which is not a fortune in today's darts world, but it's enough to put you up a few more places."

They soon get to reap the reward. "Ultimately, it takes a bit of time, but all of a sudden they're qualifying for the World Grand Prix," he stated. "They're qualifying for, you know, certain players are qualifying for the World Matchplay. Players that you didn't expect."

Hearn did admit that there were problems that needed to be solved on the European Tour. Not all the competitions are participated by the best players in the world, with the likes of Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Gerwyn Price not featuring in many of them.

"That is an issue. And part of the addressing will be increasing prize money," Hearn said. "Because at the end of the day, that's the first thing they look at. You know, I think we've got it just about right. If you're an invited player, effectively one of the top seeds, if you don't win your first game, you get paid, but it doesn't count towards your rankings. That's good. That's really good because it means you're under scrutiny. When you see other players that are in that top 16 pull out, that's not good, because they're not justifying the system that's given them the opportunity in the first place."

With darts so busy when at the top, some players are forced to pick and choose specific tournaments to skip. Especially the Premier League Darts players who are regularly travelling around competing. "If you're a top professional, part of being a top professional is organising your diary yourself," Hearn continued. And by all means, it can be to suit you because no one forces you to play.

"What we do want is the credibility of the event not being affected. If a player feels it's not worth his while, but I don't want to see someone pulling out and then appearing in an exhibition on the same night because he got more money than the first-round losers."

Hearn stressed that they were losing 'millions' holding these tournaments as they tried to get darts into the limelight. "We've got to produce a great programme because the European Tour, when we started the European Tour, was costing us millions a year in losses. Millions a year. The Pro Tour, for example, is a humongous operation. I don't know what it costs us—£5 million a year?"

He used the talented Beau Greaves as an example. "If we want to encourage youngsters, look at Beau Greaves on the Pro Tour. She nearly knocked my teeth out the other day. She won on the Pro Tour. I'm like, 'Now, what did that mean to me?' It justifies the Pro Tour. It justifies the system. And hopefully, with Beau Greaves, who I think is an exceptional talent, she thinks, "Blimey, I don't believe I could ever, in my dreams, win the Pro Tour." And then she'll go and have a run, and she's qualified for the next couple of European Tours as well. And suddenly you're looking at the ranking list. She's getting out there."

The trajectory of these costs and the profit made is a much healthier look now. With the prize money up for grabs, Hearn has insisted that players need to be regularly participating. "Now, people have either got to have the ability to take that or ignore it. But only an idiot will ignore changing your life and the type of money we're talking about," he commented.

"So we're not far away from having it dead right. I think the players have got... And I think most of the players do. They continually buy into it. You know, you'll always have a player that says, 'I don't fancy it,' or, 'The wife wants to go out this weekend.' All right, we'll make sure that we've got plenty of notice. Someone else is going to get their chance."

If you do not compete, the danger lies in the form of missing out in the top events. "The way you motivate them is you pay them more money. And if they want to miss out, they run the risk of slipping down those rankings. And before you know it, you won't be qualifying for the World Matchplay, the Grand Prix, the Grand Slam. And maybe, because the competition is so intense, you'll be struggling in a couple of years for a Tour Card.

"But if someone starts pulling out of events, don't hold your breath to get invited to the World Series. If you're a top player, behave like a top player. You've got to give back as well as take. And that's the way it will be."

Hearn also emphasised how tough the ProTour was. "So I think it's fabulous because I didn't expect to say after the World Matchplay, 'I'm going to have to, out of his words, play in some Pro Tours.' Now, all of a sudden, we've got another narrative."

This is focusing on Luke Littler who needs to amass a good chunk of change if he is going to qualify for the Players Championship Finals. He has given himself four events to do so, but it poses a difficult challenge.

"Pro Tour, top 64, which I think should be extended myself. But anyway, another year," he hinted. "About £30,000 now to be in the top 64. Look at the [stakes] on that—nothing. Those four events, do you know how tough that's going to be? He's got to really win two out of four Pro Tours. Listen, the kid's a great player. He's only won four in his career. And they're tough to win. They're tough to win, those early games, when someone gets off to a flyer and he goes 4-0 up because of your two breaks of throw."