I don’t win trophies, making money is my game

Gone are the days when snooker’s calendar comprised just six or seven events, with players complaining of not enough tournaments to compete in. This year the sport has broken new boundaries under Hearn’s direction, playing around the world in Australia, Asia, South America and Eastern Europe.

It has bolstered the circuit to around 30 events, and while some players are still trying to catch their breath at the whirlwind changes in the sport, Hearn is not resting on his laurels.

“The aim is within 12 months there will be a snooker event on every week of the year somewhere in the world, and I think that’s achievable,” said the 63-year-old, whose sporting empire covers darts, boxing and football to name but a few.

“Snooker’s gone from six or seven tournaments a year to about 30, the players are working flat-out, on a proper tour, similar to golf. It’s a global tour so they are travelling the world.

“We are talking to so many people about new events around the world. Particularly in Asia, there are events which could evolve over the next few weeks – not even months – as we are flavour of the month there.

“The whole of China stops working when the snooker is on.

“At any one time, we probably have a dozen potential venues ranging from India to Scandinavia to North America to Canada. Of those 12 potentials you will probably get two or three.”

Not that it has all been plain sailing as Hearn drags snooker into the 21st century. There have been grumblings from some, like three-times world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, that players are being blackmailed into playing smaller events just to earn ranking points to keep their elite top-16 rankings.

Hearn insists, though, that his long-term plan ensures the game will not dwindle away for future generations.

“I want the players to be happy and would like them to travel to all the events, but I understand they have to make choices,” he said. “If I am going to put on 52 weeks of snooker, clearly they’re not going to play in all of them and that’s their choice. They have families.

“I always take the view that if I was a youngster starting off in my chosen career, I look at my life and think what did I do.

“There wasn’t a day I didn’t work, there wasn’t a second when I wasn’t putting in maximum effort. I think youngsters in sport are so lucky to have the opportunity to earn a career doing something they love. In some ways, as you get older, that enthusiasm dies and it’s quite sad.

“When I remember one of the greatest players of all time, Steve Davis, he never knew the prize money in any event he played in. That’s what made him a great. He went for the trophy and, by the way, made a fortune as well but that was secondary.

“His love for the game is what the youngsters have got, and my responsibilty is to get the new players to challenge the established stars. To give them the opportunity if they are good enough. If they’re not, I won’t sponsor mediocrity.

“That’s why I love the golf system, if you don’t make the cut, you don’t get paid. That’s terrific. I am not here to hand out money I am here to reward the stars.

“If Ronnie O’Sullivan is a star, he is entitled to get every penny out of the game he can. But I do expect them to do their bit as well, as I think it’s a team effort.

“I am trying to drag this game screaming into the 21st century and I need help. I’m getting it, and the odd hiccough along the way is nothing compared to the tens of thousands of miles these boys are flying round the world.

“My driving force is always thinking if I was a youngster picking up a cue on the tour in my first year, what do I want? And the answer is I want to play snooker. I love it and want to entertain people, get better and better. At the back of my mind is if I do, I change my life.

“I want them to get rich, but keep that poor mentality. I want them to appreciate the opportunity as opposed to 99.9 per cent of the young generation who are struggling, looking for a job. All sportsmen are the luckiest people alive, and I want them to appreciate it.

“I want excellence; by playing 30 tournaments a year the standard has gone through the roof.

“You can’t expect a professional golfer to produce brilliant golf if he plays once a month, you have to play every day. It’s called going to work, just like every person in this country knows the feeling of getting up in the morning and going to work.”

At 63, most folk would be opting for a slower pace of life and thinking of retirement. Not for Dagenham-born Hearn, a qualified accountant who has been involved in the sports business for coming up to 40 years. He started promoting in 1974, and two years later became manager of Steve Davis, who would go on to win the world championship six times and revolutionise the game.

“People keep telling me to slow down, but I think I am getting faster. I am getting more enthusiastic because I can see the opportunities. I think you appreciate it more as you get older. Sometimes when you are younger, you take things for granted and get complacent.

“When you are older, and you are closer to God, you don’t take anything for granted. You want to enjoy every second, of every day. I have been like that for 63 years.

“I just love what I do, and I can’t believe I get paid for it. It’s a miracle. I am going to see some of the greatest sporting events around the world, they are my events, and someone is paying me. It’s like I have won the lottery.”

Not that he does not look on with a tinge of envy when he works so closely with talented sportsmen and women. “I think the only frustration I have had in my life, while I have a huge amount of enthusiasm for sport, is that I have never been particularly good at anything other than perhaps making money. That’s okay,” he accepts. “I look upon the business side of sport as an extension of the sport, that’s my game. I don’t win medals, cups and trophies, but what I do is deliver a set of accounts where everyone goes ‘wow’. That’s how I judge my performance, but it comes at a price.

“I’m boring really. It’s getting worse – 24 hours a day – I have no other interests. I don’t watch X-Factor or Coronation Street. I eat, drink, sleep, walk, talk my business.”