He may not have won, but the business of darts will most certainly enjoy a huge popularity bounce in the wake of the incredible performances in the World Darts Championship by teenager Luke Littler. The chances are that if your local pub has a darts board, then the queue to play is already longer than ever — a result of the sport’s extraordinary growth since 2001.
That’s when the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) secured long-term investment from Matchroom, the promotions company run by Barry Hearn and his son, Eddie, and the sport began transforming itself from pastime into celebrity-studded media phenomenon, with tournaments across the world.
Over the past decade alone, the PDC has increased its annual profits from £1.9 million to £12.3 million. No