Exclusive: Snooker now heading in right direction with Hearn at the helm insists Davis

The six-times world champion, speaking on the eve of this year's tournament which cues off today in Sheffield, believes in Barry Hearn snooker finally has the right man at its helm to take the sport forward.

Hearn, the new chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, was brought in last December to try to revolutionise the sport.

He will sit down with the players on May 5 after the world championship climax to reveal his plans for a revamped season which will include short-term tournaments and big-money prizes that he hopes will capture the imagination of fans, players, the media and sponsors.

Davis, a WPBSA board member who shot to world domination under manager Hearn in the Eighties, believes snooker is on the verge of an exciting new era.

"When it comes to reinvigorating the game, I can't think of anybody else who could even attempt to do the job as (well as) Barry," said 52-year-old Davis. "Obviously I am biased, but it's about looking at track records.

"When the players voted the last board out, it was a plus vote for Barry. They just looked at his track record, they don't know him like I know him.

"What they see is someone who has the Midas touch – that's been the case with darts and the poker world. Being able to create events which capture the imagination of not just the public, but a TV company and a sponsor, is quite an art form."

While the World Championship format will not be changed – Hearn regards it as snooker's 'crown jewels' – the current calendar will be ripped up and re-launched.

"Snooker needed proper management that effectively stopped the rot, stopped the waste and turned it around into a profitable concern, rather than something which was losing but could stand the loss because of TV monies," said Davis. "That's more or less been done now. I think Barry considers that perhaps next year we can produce a profitable business model, if he is given the chance.

"That happens after the World Championship when all the players will be given a chance to discuss it and we will see how it goes.

"A lot of people didn't have any direction in the work force. A bit like the captain of a ship, a bad captain and the crew are running around all over the place not knowing what they are doing. It may be sailing, but not sailing as efficiently as it could be."

Hearn has a wealth of experience in sport. He founded Matchroom Sport in the Seventies, promoting snooker and boxing, and is chairman of League One football team Leyton Orient and the Professional Darts Association as well as the WPBSA.

"What the public and TV sees was staid," conceded Davis. "It needed somebody in there who can mix it up a bit, someone to get the balance right of keeping quality events, the big events like the World Championship, sacrosanct but then trying to get other people involved in the Twenty20 cricket model.

"It's about trying to come up with some new events which are fresh. That's what Barry is really good at. Then on the back of the fresh, new fun events, you hopefully get people back into watching snooker. That's the plan.

"But it's important that it runs well financially. I'd like to be involved in helping snooker become a success story, rather than perceived to be failing."