PDC and Barry Hearn urged to drop strict rule after major Raymond van Barneveld decision

Five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld will be one of the star attractions at this weekend’s televised Champion of Champions event hosted by World Seniors Darts

The PDC has been urged to loosen restrictions on players after Raymond van Barneveld was surprisingly granted permission to play in a World Seniors event.

The five-time world champion will be part of the field at Sunday’s World Seniors Champion of Champions tournament in Portsmouth. The event will feature a host of former PDC Tour cardholders, including Simon Whitlock and Steve Beaton, and will be shown for free on Pluto TV, which broadcasts the MODUS Super Series.

Current tour card holders like Van Barneveld are ordinarily barred from playing in televised or streamed events that aren’t run by the PDC unless they are granted special permission, as the Dutchman has on this occasion.

World Seniors Darts chairman Jason Francis hopes that Van Barneveld’s involvement will lead to the other players over the age of 45 lobbying the PDC to play in Senior events, like next year’s World Seniors Championship at the Circus Tavern.

“We’ve got a World Championship coming up in February,” said Francis, who is also chairman of World Seniors Snooker.

“I would love to see Gary Anderson, Peter Wright, Mensur Suljovic, Barney… there are other darts players over 45 who would think, ‘I wouldn’t mind putting a World Seniors Championship on my CV and I would mind winning it at the Circus Tavern.’”

However, that will rely on the PDC granting players permission or lifting the current restrictions, which Francis believes would be in the interests of both players and fans.

Francis says he has communicated with PDC chief executive Matt Porter over the issue. While he has the utmost respect for Porter, he believes it will take the PDC’s owners, Barry Hearn’s Matchroom operation, which also controls the World Snooker Tour (WST), to change tack for a breakthrough to be made.

“We’ve been very restricted in the players we can use,” said Francis, who is the manager of snooker icon Ronnie O’Sullivan.

“I’ve had an ongoing dialogue with Matt Porter and have invited him to lift all restrictions on all players. I don’t know Matt personally. I understand he does an incredibly good job and is very well respected in how he runs the PDC.

“But Matt isn’t the decision-maker. In my opinion, the major decisions in darts and snooker are taken by Barry Hearn.

“I can have as many discussions as I want with Matt Porter, which have been very cordial, but he can’t do anything without Barry’s say-so.

“He hasn’t agreed to lift all of the restrictions. He has reminded players they are free to apply for permission. What that means, I don’t know. In this case, Raymond van Barneveld has been given permission to play in a World Seniors event.

“Darts fans are the winners here. They have another tournament where they can see a top PDC player play in another broadcast event. I hope we will soon be in a world where every player is free to play in anything they want.”