Barry Hearn urged to sanction PDC rule change surprise Raymond van Barneveld call

Barry Hearn has been urged to lift restrictions on PDC players for the benefit of both players and fans. PDC Tour card holders are ordinarily barred from playing in televised or streamed events that aren't run by the corporation unless they are granted permission.

That permission was surprisingly granted to Raymond van Barneveld, who will be part of a field of legends at Sunday's Champion of Champions event run by World Seniors Darts. Former PDC stars Simon Whitlock and former BDO world champions Steve Beaton and Martin Adams will also be involved in the event, which will be shown for free on Pluto TV, which also broadcasts the MODUS Super Series. 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 the 2026 World Seniors Championship at the Circus Tavern.

Francis said: "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. Francis, who has been in dialogue with PDC CEO Matt Porter, believes it would be in the interests of both players and fans.

While he has the utmost respect for Porter, he believes it will take the owners of the PDC, Barry Hearn's Matchroom company, to alter its stance.

"We've been very restricted in the players we can use," said Francis, who is the manager of snooker icon Ronnie O'Sullivan and chairman of World Seniors Snooker.

"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 [Porter] 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."