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Hearn's plans get go ahead

Barry Hearn plans to reinvigorate snooker by adding new tournaments © Getty Images

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Barry Hearn's plans to reinvigorate snooker have been given the green light after he was voted back into power by the world's top players.

The veteran sports promoter defeated late challenger John Davison by six votes to gain a 51% controlling stake in World Snooker. The decision will see the commercial assets of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), who currently run the game, transferred to World Snooker Limited (WSL) in a complete separation of regulatory power.

Hearn, who has helped to raise the profile of darts since becoming chairman of the Professional Darts Corporation, has big plans for the game and is keen to produce a new schedule for the players with several new tournaments.

"I'm delighted," Hearn said. "I don't underestimate the challenges that lie ahead but for the moment snooker is united. I owe the game a lot and I will make sure that I'll be giving 100% every day to bring it to the level at which it should be operating.

"I think we need a three-year plan, and we need to create a possibility to get them playing all the time. I want them playing every weekend of the year.

"That would be the same as darts and hopefully we'll have the same success that we've had with darts."

Hearn's narrow victory over former Olympic shooter Davison, who had the support of former world champions Stephen Hendry and Peter Ebdon, comes at a vital time for a sport rocked by match-fixing revelations and Hearn is determined to unite everyone involved in the game in order to forge a bright future.

"We said after the meeting that we've drawn a line in the sand, and all the problems in the past, all the politics, are history," Hearn added. "We've got strong leadership. Where are we going to go from here? We know we've got a big job.

"The result was very satisfying, and for me it's personally been one of the most satisfying days of my life."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.