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And darts players are often happy to toss their flights away into the crowd after wins.

Hearn said players want "bigger prize money" and likened snooker to darts, which has been run successfully by Matchroom, becoming a sport that regularly fills arenas rather than theatres.

He missed match darts at tops and double 10 in leg nine and Van Gerwen was able to win that and the subsequent two legs to win 6-5.

He also hosted a reboot of darts game show Bullseye over Christmas, which will return for a full series later this year.

The 18-year-old – leading the league and seeking a record fifth nightly win of the year - opted for heavier darts, up three grams to 26g, in a bid to keep his arrows on track.