It’s fair to say that sports businessman Barry Hearn has his finger in a number of well assembled pies – if he doesn’t say so himself. After overseeing the revamp of darts into a mass market sport that wasn’t simply for fat men in pubs, his first venture, and arguably first love are set for their biggest occasion in many years this weekend.
Leyton Orient aren’t the first club foreign tourists flock to when looking for sporting landmarks in the capital of the iGaming universe, London, but that’s where soccer’s attention will be come Sunday afternoon. Hearn’s side host the conquerors of Barcelona, Arsenal, with the winner guaranteed a place in the FA Cup quarter finals.
Being an innovator of new and exciting ways to promote the products he has under his belt is there a way that Hearn could make this clash with Arsenal slightly different to the norm.
God forbid were it to reach a penalty shoot out but being a man that has some of the world’s most accurate men playing for his brands then it might be a godsend.
You can imagine it now. With one minute remaining of normal time, Hearn somehow managed to smuggle on Phil “The Power” Taylor, Adrian “Jackpot” Lewis, and Raymond van Barneveld as substitutes.
Unfortunately it doesn’t turn out the way they want and the three of them are no match for a Premier League goalkeeper, to which Hearn then offers them double or quits in a game of poker, without knowing that these three can sure as hell hustle.
Wenger loses and we have a new giant killing. Elsewhere, back here on planet earth you can expect Orient to take it to a replay and succumb to the Gunners at the Emirates. The dream was fun while it lasted though.
