‘He is a terrible person,’ slams darts star about former PDC boss as he prepares to quit tour after 17 years
DARTS star Vincent van der Voort has slammed Barry Hearn as a “terrible person”.
The Matchroom chief was the chairman of the PDC for two decades before stepping down and handing the role to his son Eddie in 2021.
Hearn, 76, oversaw the rise of the PDC as they moved ahead of the BDO as darts’ biggest governing body.
Van der Voort, 48, competed in the old BDO tournaments before switching to the PDC alongside Michael van Gerwen in 2007.
With the Dutch veteran now eyeing retirement, he was asked if he would be waved off by Hearn.
Van der Voort replied on the Darts Draait Door podcast: “I consider that chance very small.
“He’s a great businessman. He has really been an icon for the sport of darts, what he has put down.
“On a personal level he is a terrible person, I think.
“In terms of business we couldn’t have wished for a better one.”
Van der Voort has featured 17 times at the World Championships during his lengthy career, making the quarter-final in 2011 and 2015.
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And hopes to qualify this year despite taking time away from the tour.
He said: “To say goodbye in a dignified way would be nice.
“Of course, it’s not for everyone. I also know what it is like to go to the World Championship and then you wake up in the morning already a little tense during the drive to Alexandra Palace.
“The feeling in the hall, throwing in. That would be nice to experience again.”