‘Show who you are’ – Darts star reveals how Barry Hearn chat led to axing of little-known World Championship rule

Former PDC Tour Card holder Matthew Edgar has revealed that a controversial rule at the World Championship was axed.

The decision came following a discussion with Barry Hearn.

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For years, players were not allowed to wear the same colour shirts as one another.

The way it used to work involved the lowest-ranked player out of the two bringing a spare.

They would then have to change into that shirt rather than wearing their own.

Of course, every darts player has a nickname and their own personal branding, so to have to sacrifice that just because they are lower in the rankings and wear similar colours, is a problem.

But the rule has been changed, meaning players can wear what they want on the Alexandra Palace stage.

Speaking about it on his YouTube channel, he said: “When I played Michael van Gerwen, who we know wears green all the time, and back then I used to wear a green polo shirt.

“When I played Michael van Gerwen on TV in the Players Championship Finals, I had to take with me an alternate shirt.

“This happened all the time. It got tricky when you played someone like Peter Wright, who you don’t know what colour they’re going to wear.

“The highest-ranked player got to choose their colour. Imagine if you’re Phil Taylor playing Michael van Gerwen – world No1 against world No2.

“You could choose to wear green. He always wears green. He would have to change.

“As darts becomes more individual, as personalities were more encouraged, and with the meetings we had alongside Barry Hearn who was saying, ‘We need you to show who you are…’

“We need those individualities and those little bits that make our presence or familiarity. So the rule got scrapped.”

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Hearn steps in

One of the reasons that people fall in love with darts players is their character.

The nicknames, the branding and the walk-on song are all part of what makes them the package they are.

The fact that a colour clash could have stopped players from showing off who they are and what they represent was an issue.

Hearn has seen darts grow hugely over the last few years, and one of the reasons is because of the personalities that are involved in the game.

The ability to market themselves is a big part of that, so to remove that obstacle can only be a good thing for the players.

If the rules had been the same as they were, Chris Landman would have had to change his shirt for his encounter with Ryan Searle.

And when Gary Anderson meets Jermaine Wattimena in the third round, the Dutchman would have had to ditch his black and blue shirt.

It’s a small change, but it does make a difference for the players.