Barry Hearn OBE Steps Aside As Eddie Hearn Becomes Matchroom Sport Group Chairman
Barry Hearn and his son Eddie Hearn

Eddie Hearn will become Chairman of the Matchroom Sport Group of Companies as Barry Hearn OBE steps aside after almost 40 years to become President of the Group in an advisory role, dealing primarily with event strategy and global development.


Eddie will become Chairman of the Group of Companies and Chairman of Matchroom Sport, Professional Darts Corporation, Matchroom Boxing, Matchroom Boxing USA, Matchroom Media and the PGA EuroPro Tour.

Also in the group, Steve Dawson will take over from Barry as Chairman of World Snooker after this year’s World Snooker Championship, Matthew Porter will become Chairman of Matchroom Multi Sport and Katie Hearn CEO of Matchroom Media.


From humble beginnings in 1982

Hearn founded the sports promotions company back in 1982, enjoying huge success with Snooker before moving into Boxing, Darts, Pool and Tenpin Bowling amongst more than a dozen different sports.

Through the 1990s Hearn turned several niche sports into major TV attractions with a succession of innovative ideas.

His acquisition of a majority shareholding in the PDC in 2001 and World Snooker in 2010 saw him appointed Chairman as both companies went from strength to strength. 

What do Matchroom Sports do?

  • Matchroom supplies a wide range of sports programming to broadcasters worldwide, producing over 3,000 hours of action annually across over 600 event days in addition to original documentaries and shoulder programming for all platforms.
  • Following several years in the sponsorship and event management industry, Eddie Hearn joined Matchroom Sport in 2004, he assumed the role of Chief Executive of the PGA EuroPro Tour and subsequently headed up Matchroom Sport’s rapidly expanding poker and online gaming operations.
  • With the swift growth of the company in recent years Eddie has assumed the role of Group Managing Director and will now become Group Chairman.