BARRY HEARN reckons Luke Littler has made darts so popular that there aren’t enough days in the year to squeeze in the amount of events needed to meet fan demand.
The PDC chairman has said that “main man” Littler is one of the reasons behind darts‘ incredible growth in recent years.
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Littler, 18, burst onto the scene at the 2024 World Championship and has since cemented himself as one of the best players in the world.
His meteoric rise has seen him be crowned world champion on his second attempt, pocket in excess of £1MILLION in prize money and add over 15 PDC titles to a growing trophy cabinet.
Speaking to Sky Sports about what Littler’s emergence has done for the sport, Hearn said: “It’s [darts] just getting bigger and bigger.
“I’m actually having a problem that there is only 365 days in a year!
“The demand worldwide is so huge that I could fill that twice.”
Adding: “It’s non stop. The players are responding with performances beyond what I’ve ever seen in my life, in terms of averages and checkouts.
“Led by the main man Luke Littler, who is fast becoming a phenomenon.”
The increased interest in darts has meant an increase in prize money too.
Luke Littler prize money breakdown
Here is all the prize money Luke Littler has won so far after being crowned 2025 PDC World Darts Championship winner:
World Championship 2025 – £500,000
World Championship 2024 – £200,000
Grand Slam of Darts 2024 – £150,000
European Tour – £91,000
Player Championships events – £71,500
Players Championship final runner-up – £60,000
UK Open 2023 + 2024 – £17,500
World Matchplay – £10,000
World Grand Prix – £7,500
European Championship – £7,500
(Unranked) Premier League Darts – £315,000
TOTAL: £1.43 million
This year’s World Championship will be worth an eye-watering £1MILLION to the winner – double last year’s jackpot.
While there has been a total increase of £7MILLION across the PDC calendar thanks to a historic Sky Sports £125million five-year TV deal.
Speaking on the changes, Hearn said: “This is the first year where our prize money goes past £25million, World Championship is worth £1million, more European events because of demand in Europe.
“The Premier League is heading out of the UK and going to Belgium, it’s non stop”.