PDC chairman Hearn: The best is yet to come!

Barry Hearn (Lawrence Lustig, PDC)

PDC chairman Barry Hearn OBE believes that the sport can continue to flourish at the top level, following his induction into the PDC Hall of Fame.

Hearn's contribution to the sport's growth in the past two decades was recognised on Monday as he joined the likes of Phil Taylor, Eric Bristow, Rod Harrington, Tommy Cox and Dick Allix in the Hall of Fame.

The founder of sports promotions and TV production company Matchroom Sport, Hearn initially took over the PDC in 2001 having previously handled international television sales, and has spearheaded the sport's worldwide growth since, with prize money soaring to above £10 million per year.

However, as he reflected on two decades as PDC chairman, Hearn believes that the growth can continue in years to come.

Hearn said: "When the old WDC, which became the PDC, came to me and said 'would you help us with domestic and international TV sales, it was a job.

"As time goes on, inevitably you get more involved with this great sport, and when the opportunity came up to become chairman and majority shareholder, by then I'd seen the potential.

"I had some idea, not the complete vision, of where this sport could go so I jumped at the opportunity.

"This was a sport that was always waiting to happen, but no-one had actually dragged it into the real commercialised world of sport today; in the 21st century it's a tough business but there are massive opportunities.

"We at the PDC have taken advantage of those opportunities but the journey is still in progress - it's not finished. We've made amazing progress, but we're only on the way.

"We haven't reached that promised land yet but we're doing very well, and in difficult times we are surviving probably better than any sport out there.

"We are on the way to becoming a truly accepted global sport, and the best is yet to come!"