Luke Littler may 'force' the World Darts Championships to move from iconic Ally Pally venue

The rise of Luke Littler could force the PDC World Darts Championship to move away from the iconic Alexandra Palace in London.

Since 2008, the World Darts Championship has been held at 'Ally Pally', having previously been played at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex from 1994 to 2007.

Last year, Ally Pally was rocked by the emergence of teenage sensation Littler, whose fairytale journey to the final captured the attention of many fans.

However, the teenager was left disappointed after being beaten in the final by world number one Luke Humphries.

This year, Littler has another chance to win his first world title as he prepares to take on three-time winner Michael van Gerwen in the final on Friday night.

Thanks to Littler, the popularity of darts has grown massively, which could become bad news for the iconic venue of Ally Pally.

Despite the history behind the venue, its 3200-capacity means it could soon be too small for the event if the popularity of the sport continues to grow.

Matchroom president and former PDC chairperson Barry Hearn admitted in May 2024 that he was considering extending the size of the tournament and insisted the Professional Darts Corporation is keeping its options open.

"Do we need to move to a bigger venue? The bigger hall at Ally Pally needs a lot of work done to it but it could handle 6,000 people per session," Hearn told the PA news agency.

"So there is the potential. But the other side of it is the game of darts around the world is getting so huge I actually need to make the World Championship longer.

"If I have got eight extra sessions I have got 25,000 more tickets to sell. But inevitably in the end we are going to be looking at what we are going to do.“It is one step at a time, I am not a gambler, but sometimes you get a curveball like Luke Littler and you have to rethink your strategy."

The World Darts Championship has been held at the Alexandra Palace, London since 2008. Image: Getty

He added: "We reckon we could sell 250,000 tickets for the World Championship and they wouldn’t fit in the Ally Pally.

"It’s one step at a time, we are looking at the big hall but it needs a lot of work done. We are keeping our options open because we have learned with Luke Littler that you sometimes can’t see what is coming. It’s under discussion with everybody."