Matchroom Sport

Matchroom Sport is a sport event promotions company led by the founder and owner English entrepreneur Barry Hearn and his son Eddie. It first came to attention in the sports of snooker and boxing and is also involved in pool, bowling, golf (see PGA EuroPro Tour), fishing, darts, ping pong, and poker. The company is based in Brentwood, Essex.

Recently, it also began sponsoring the football ground of English League One team Leyton Orient. Previously called Brisbane Road, it has now been renamed the Matchroom Stadium. Barry Hearn is Orient's Chairman.

Cue sports

After many years of snooker event management, Matchroom Sport is currently the official sponsor of the annual WPA World Nine-ball Championship, the most prestigious professional tournament of its field. After having organised a similar but competing event for one year, the World Professional Pool Championship in Cardiff, Wales, in July 1999, Matchroom merged its tournament with that of the World Pool-Billiard Association in 2000, and the joint event took the promotional name "World Pool Championship" (an ambiguous name, since there is also a yearly WPA World Eight-ball Championship held in the United Arab Emirates). The event stayed in Cardiff until 2003, with the 2004 and 2005 events taking place in Taiwan. The 2006 event was held in the Philippines. Despite the moves, the competition has remained very similar in format and staging throughout.

Barry Hearn

Barry Hearn (born 19 June 1948) is an English sporting events promoter and the founder and chairman of promotions company Matchroom Sport.

Through Matchroom, Hearn is also involved in many sports, including pool, tenpin bowling, golf (see PGA EuroPro Tour), Table Tennis and fishing. Hearn is currently the chairman of the Professional Darts Corporation, and was also until July 2010 chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA). Also, until July 2014, was the chairman of Leyton Orient F.C.

Early life

Born in 1948 on a council estate in Dagenham, London, and educated at Buckhurst Hill County High School. He worked and then ran a series of small businesses as a teenager, from washing cars to picking fruit and vegetables.

After qualifying as an accountant, Hearn took over the role of finance director to a design company based in Kensal Green, called Deryck Healey Associates (circa 1973). He formed a new firm, Kensal House Investments, and DHA became Deryck Healey International (DHI).

Eddie Hearn

Edward "Eddie" Hearn is a British boxing promoter. He is also a director of the Professional Darts Corporation.

Boxing Promoter

Hearn is currently 'Group Managing Director' of Matchroom Sport which is a company his father, Barry Hearn, founded. He organizes boxing matches for all boxers under contract with Matchroom Sport, who in turn have a contract with Sky Sports to televise these events. Sky Sports give Matchroom a set number of dates for Hearn to organise matches for. Hearn's stable under Matchroom Sports has several world champions such as Lee Selby, Kell Brook, Anthony Crolla, Jamie McDonnell, Scott Quigg and James DeGale. It also has world title challengers and number one contenders such as Tony Bellew. He also promotes young prospects like Anthony Joshua, Luke Campbell, Callum Smith and Khalid Yafai along many others.

References