"The result is generally one of the least important things on their minds when people come to the Ally Pally" - Admits PDC CEO as talks builds of extended World Championship

Ticket sales for the upcoming World Darts Championship started recently. Within the hour, the event was already almost completely sold out. Matt Porter, CEO of the PDC is therefore considering expanding the format of the World Championship.

Porter knows that the World Darts Championship is the most popular tournament on the calendar, but even he was still surprised by the rapid ticket sales. "We knew it was going to sell out relatively quickly, but that was a phenomenal return," he told The Standard. "We were told by our ticket providers that the levels of demand were up there with what they see for Glastonbury."

The CEO is therefore thinking about expanding the Worlds even further woth more players and more playing dates. "Increasing the size of the field is something that’s at the front of our minds at the moment," he explains. “If we can increase the number of sessions, that will help us to satisfy demand. The logical progression is to go from 96 players to 128 players. It’s not a case of saying, ‘It’s broken, we need to fix it’. It’s a case of saying, ‘It’s big, how can we make it bigger?’”

Porter also notes that many people come to Ally Pally primarily for the experience. “The result is generally one of the least important things on their minds when people come to the event," Porter says. "For us, it’s all about delivering an experience people enjoy, remember and want to come back to.”

One the players making a big impact on the public's growing interest is 17-year-old Luke Littler. “He’s been great for us in terms of opening new doors to a different ­demographic," says Porter delightedly. "He’s been on the Jonathan Ross show, he’s presented a BRIT award, he’s done a driving day with the Mercedes F1 team. Things that historically would have been difficult for darts to move into, he’s been able to take advantage of. It’s fantastic for him and for us.”