"Saudi Arabia is obviously investing heavily in sport" - PDC CEO Matt Porter on future plans of Saudi involvement in darts

Recently, there was much talk about a possible move of the World Darts Championship from Alexandra Palace. Even PDC president Barry Hearn let it be known that Saudi Arabia were interested in being a possible destination.

Still, it doesn't seem to be coming right away. Indeed, Matt Porter, CEO of the PDC, announced almost immediately that a move is definitely not on the cards for the next few years, although he doesn’t rule it out completely. "I mean 'ever' is a very difficult word to give an accurate answer to because what do you mean by ever? In a 100 years time or in 50 years time, in 25 years time?" Porter says in conversation with Online Darts.

A new tournament in Saudi Arabia does seem like a possibility. Thus, a possible World Series tournament in the Middle East is being considered. "Saudi Arabia is obviously investing heavily in sport and they've invested in other sports that Matchroom, PDC's parent company, deliver but we put on our best event at Alexandra Palace, we put on the world's most loved darts event, we put on the biggest darts event at Alexandra Palace," Porter continues. "The thing is, the World Series you know, it's pretty obvious and not difficult to see that the World Series is the method that we go into new markets with. You test the water as it's over two days, you give local players a platform to play, you introduce the event to local broadcast partners and you try to grow it from there. So, that has been traditionally over the last decade the route we've taken into new markets - that and the European tour which clearly wouldn't apply in Saudi Arabia."

"But yeah, that's to me, if I was a fan, I would think that was a more logical move than necessarily moving the World Championship there," Porter concludes honestly.

The World Series of Darts began in 2013 with the goal of raising awareness of the sport in countries where it is not yet as popular. This year, seven such tournaments are being held around the world. The World Series of Darts Finals will take place in Amsterdam on the weekend of Sept. 13, 14 and 15.