Gary Anderson's dodgy internet connection has put paid to his chances of being able to compete in the Professional Darts Corporation’s inaugural home event tonight.
The competition was set up to entertain darts fans stuck at home due to the Covid-19 pandemic and will feature 128 top players squaring off against each other from their homes using video calls.
But two-times PDC world champion Anderson will not be at the oche for the start of the event.
"I was up for it but when we did tests of my wifi, it's just not reliable enough," the Flying Scotsman told the Sun.
"It doesn't surprise me. I struggle to pay bills online in my house, it's really frustrating."
The 49-year-old was injured for part of the 2019 season and was looking forward to making a strong return this year before the outbreak of the novel coronavirus brought the global sporting calendar to a standstill.
World champion Peter Wright will headline the opening round, with 32 consecutive evenings of competitive matches planned.
Hearn said on talkSPORT: "Maybe that will just put a little smile and give us something to look forward to. It is 32 consecutive days as a minimum starting point, three hours a night.
"(It is) a little bit of live sport, which is not going to be anywhere near the standard we are used to watching. This is from people's homes but they are trying and they are good blokes and they will give us 100% effort.
"These guys are sportsmen and they are self-employed. They are not getting a fortune but they are getting an appearance fee because we are experimenting. The 32 winners when we go forward, hopefully we can do a bit more.
"It is going to be fun, it is not going to be perfect. But what you will see is real, competitive sport."
Hearn has not ruled out Anderson being able to feature at some stage, adding: "We've got a couple like that, we are trying to help, we are talking about boosters. There are technical things we can do.
"Michael Van Gerwen has just had a new baby so his house is in turmoil too."
