"Sometimes you get a curveball like Luke Littler": Ally Pally World Championship change under discussion admits Barry Hearn

I call it the Luke Littler effect says PDC President, Barry Hearn who admits that the World Darts Championship may have to be altered whether that is moving to the bigger hall inside the Alexandra Palace or even taking it away from North London.

With Saudi rumours in similar notes to the Snooker World Championship, the iconic Alexandra Palace could yet find itself having to shift how it operates or face losing the darting spectacle to the highest bidder. Whilst darting fans were queuing up to get a piece of Luke Littler last year, it perhaps had the opposite effect on the fortunes of the Alexandra Palace with the future now under discussion.

Amid the rise of the now 17-year-old, sponsors and other bidders have queued up with the popularity of darts skyrocketing so it will be a pivotal juncture for the future of the darting showpiece which famously moved from the Circus Tavern which it became too big to be hosted at the historic venue. Saudi Arabia involvement also has been welcomed by Gerwyn Price in particular mainly due to rowdy darting crowds and his jousting with them. But whether a move happens imminently remains to be seen.

“Do we need to move to a bigger venue? The bigger hall at Ally Pally needs a lot of work done to it but it could handle 6,000 people per session. So there is the potential. But the other side of it is the game of darts around the world is getting so huge I actually need to make the World Championship longer," said Hearn to PA.

“If I have got eight extra sessions I have got 25,000 more tickets to sell. But inevitably in the end we are going to be looking at what we are going to do. It is one step at a time, I am not a gambler, but sometimes you get a curveball like Luke Littler and you have to rethink your strategy.

“We reckon we could sell 250,000 tickets for the World Championship and they wouldn’t fit in the Ally Pally. It’s one step at a time, we are looking at the big hall but it needs a lot of work done. We are keeping our options open because we have learned with Luke Littler that you sometimes can’t see what is coming."

“This is going to a level we have not come across before,” added Hearn on the knock-on effect for the sport amid the rise of Luke Littler with the former chairman still holding a huge role despite retiring. “Darts is a massive business, but we have gone to another level in the stratosphere. It’s not a massive surprise but it’s the best 2024 present I could have asked for.

“I have had broadcasters around the world queuing up, sponsors wanting to see what’s available, reports from future events selling out. Rather than it peter out, it is gaining momentum. I call it now the Luke Littler effect, the gift that keeps on giving."