Luke Littler effect puts Alexandra Palace future as host of PDC World Darts Championship ‘under discussion’

Luke Littler effect puts Alexandra Palace future as host of PDC World Darts Championship ‘under discussion’

Barry Hearn says the World Darts Championship’s future at Alexandra Palace is “under discussion” after Luke Littler’s dramatic effect on the sport,

Hearn says the 17-year-old is the “the gift that keeps on giving” after bursting onto the scene and taking darts into the mainstream.

Littler stormed to the 2024 World Championship final in his tournament debut and last week won the Premier League, hitting a nine-dart finish in his 11-7 victory over Luke Humphries in the final

Alexandra Palace has hosted the World Championship since 2008 but the 3,200-capacity venue is limited and tickets sell out in July before even hitting general sale.

Are we entering an era of Littler dominance?Speaking on the Love The Darts podcast, Matt Edgar said the sport could be entering a period of Littler dominance

Matchroom Sport president Hearn told the PA news agency: “Do we need to move to a bigger venue? The bigger hall at Ally Pally needs a lot of work done to it but it could handle 6,000 people per session

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of it is the game of darts around the world is getting so huge I actually need to make the World Championship longer.

“If I have got eight extra sessions I have got 25,000 more tickets to sell. But inevitably in the end we are going to be looking at what we are going to do.

“It is one step at a time, I am not a gambler, but sometimes you get a curveball like Luke Littler and you have to rethink your strategy.

Hearn added: “We reckon we could sell 250,000 tickets for the World Championship and they wouldn’t fit in the Ally Pally.Share

The video you are trying to watch cannot be viewed from your current country or locationHighlights as Littler won the Premier League in his debut campaign after defeating world No 1 Luke Humphries 11-7 in the final

“It’s one step at a time, we are looking at the big hall but it needs a lot of work done. We are keeping our options open because we have learned with Luke Littler that you sometimes can’t see what is coming. It’s under discussion with everybody.”