The man who turned darts into a Sky Sports hit has turned his attention to the ailing sport of snooker and while the majority of the top players are backing him all the way, there’s the odd one who isn’t so sure, principally Stephen Hendry.

But why does a sport that enjoyed so much coverage and attention in the 1980s need rescuing anyway?

Can Barry Hearn get snooker mainstream again?

Viewing figures are still high (though dwindling in the UK) and the game’s growth in Europe and especially the Far East is reportedly astronomical. No, the fans are not the issue. What is is the levels of sponsorship, prize money and number of tournaments. Also blamed is a lack of characters amongst the players, with only Ronnie O’Sullivan providing any kind of glitz with his fast paced play.

When the tobacco giants were forced to end sponsorship of snooker events the game took a massive hit in terms of revenue. This led to smaller prize money pots and a dwindling in the number of top ranking events. Overall coverage, in the UK at least, fell away with them.

So up steps Barry Hearn, famous promoter of boxers and snooker players, to the role of chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) to save the day.

Hearn intends to restore snooker to it’s former glory through a number of proposals, which the professionals in the game will vote on on May 5th.

Hearn’s Proposals

Hearn’s ideas to get snooker back into the public eye are quite radical in terms of the game’s history. They include:

• Player theme tunes as they approach the table
• One frame shootouts
• Shot clocks to speed up play (no problem for Ronnie there!)

All these and more are designed to make the game more appealing to audiences, though they do run the risk of alienating the sport’s longer serving spectators and traditionalists.

Hearn likens his proposals to the introduction of Twenty20 cricket and there can be no doubt that that has found a new audience – something snooker desperately needs if it is to exist and, ultimately, grow.

The Snooker World Championships kick off this weekend, one event that has stood the test of time with players and audiences alike, but the rest of the snooker calendar is in need of a shake up. If Hearn’s proposals can do that, so much the better.

Back to the players though – are they likely to back it? If not, Hearn has said he will walk away and do something else. Here’s what some of the top performers have said so far…

Ronnie O’Sullivan: “Sometimes you have to back people with a little blind faith. It has to be voted through.”

Mark Williams: [Hearn should be allowed to do] “whatever he wants.”

Mark Selby: “Something needs to change, we need to liven it up a bit more.”

All positive, but there are a few dissenting voices. When Stephen Hendry speaks, you have to listen.

“If that’s what we’ve got to do, let people in drinking and shouting and bawling, then it’s a sad state.”

And maybe he’s right. Not that that is quite what Barry Hearn is suggesting. Perhaps more telling about Hearn’s overall plans, behind the scenes as well as in front of the cameras, is the recent resignation of Lee Doyle from the board of the WPBSA.

Doyle, who manages O’Sullivan and Hendry and is a rival promoter, quit because he objected to Hearn’s plans as they would give him a controlling interest in the game if the players go for it. He said:

“I feel that my current position is untenable given that I am completely opposed to the proposals Barry Hearn has laid out, whereby the controlling rights in the company are handed over to him.

“I do understand what Barry is trying to achieve in snooker, and we have discussed this at considerable length, but on this one we agree to disagree.”

In effect, should his proposals be agreed upon, Hearn would get a 51% controlling stake in World Snooker for just £250,000 of his own money. That has to set alarm bells ringing on the business side of the sport. But without Hearn would there even be a sport?

That’s what the players have to decide in May.

For me, I love snooker. I remember staying up late to watch World Snooker finals when I was a kid, including the thrilling Davis vs Taylor final. If Hearn is what snooker needs and snooker needs to make changes to survive then it must. The audience is there, the players are there – someone just needs to bring it together.

Do you think Barry Hearn and his ideas will revive the game of snooker or end its life for good? Let us know in the comments.