Eddie Hearn has revealed that only Premier League football boasts more viewers than darts since Luke Littler came to prominence.
The 17-year-old burst onto the scene as he reached the PDC World Championship final, although he lost to Luke Humphries.
Former world champions Raymond van Barneveld and Rob Cross fell to defeat against Littler en route and he has since continued his impressive rise in the sport.
Darts has long been a popular TV event, but PDC chairman Hearn has now spoken on just how high the viewing figures are amid Littler’s success.
Speaking on Piers Morgan Uncensored alongside his father Barry, he said: “We’re seeing our viewing figures, the one thing is darts is continuously disrespected really as a sport.
“The viewing figures are second only to Premier League football, and actually during the World Championship, they were on the same level as Premier League football.”
“Unbelievable,” replied Morgan, before Hearn added: “No other sport, you go and look at these viewing figures, the tennis, the golf on Sky versus darts.”
Littler’s World Championship efforts had many thinking he would play his debut season in the PDC’s Premier League this year.
Hearn has revealed that he could see his potential and pushed for the teenager to be selected for the tour once he made the semi-finals at Alexandra Palace.
“You would have enjoyed the moment he burst onto the scene in the World Championships,” he explained.
During that period, the PDC board make their final selection about the Premier League, which is our weekly roadshow around the UK and now Europe as well.
“At this point, Luke had just got into the semi-finals and we said, ‘You’ve got to put Luke Littler in.’
“There was a lot of members of the board who really care deeply about darts who said, ‘Now we have a duty to protect this young man.
“‘He’s 16, do we really want to be putting him under that pressure and on this stage, week in, week out,’ and our answer was, ‘Yeah, absolutely, sling him in.'”
Littler won his first Premier League night last Thursday when he beat Nathan Aspinall in the final in Belfast.
The result has taken him to second in the standings behind world no.1 Humphries, with more success behind the oche surely set to follow.
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