Matchroom’s Emily Frazer on Netflix, Nine-Ball Pool, and Global Expansion

Emily Frazer, CEO of Matchroom Multi Sport, has been at the forefront of reshaping sports promotion, from darts to pool to boxing. With the recent Netflix documentary Matchroom: The Greatest Showman drawing global attention, Frazer sat down with iSportConnect’s Taruka Srivastav to discuss the making of the series, her journey as a woman leader in sports, Matchroom’s unique approach to promotion, and what’s next for the company.

Emily, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s start with the Netflix series—it’s a huge step for Matchroom. How did it happen?

It’s been years in the making, so the last couple of weeks have felt surreal. Filming finished quite some time ago, and we’d moved on with our day-to-day work, so the launch creeping closer was exciting. With Eddie’s personality and profile, it made sense, but I think the real surprise has been how audiences have responded to seeing the behind-the-scenes side. What feels like our normal routine came across as inspiring, funny, and insightful. People don’t often realize how much work goes into running global events. Matchroom: The Greatest Showman shows just that—how a family business evolved into a global powerhouse.

You’ve also carved out a leadership space for yourself in a male-dominated industry. How did your journey unfold?

It’s been very special for me, and the Netflix documentary highlighted that even more. When I first joined Matchroom, I worked directly with Katie Hearn, Barry’s daughter. She was my biggest champion and taught me everything about TV production. Watching her operate so confidently was inspiring. I learned strength, leadership, and vision from her. The feedback I’ve received since the Netflix release—especially from women saying my story gave them hope—has been incredible. At Matchroom, the ethos has always been that if you deserve the job and put in the work, you’ll be championed. That’s been my experience.

Do you see the Netflix series as a way to engage Gen Z and younger audiences with sports like poker, snooker, or pool?

The series has been more of an education piece, showing the breadth of Matchroom’s work across sports. It’s introduced new fans to our different properties. For younger audiences, though, we adapt constantly. For example, nine-ball pool has a super young audience, and the content we put out is casual, fun, and personality-driven. The docuseries complements that by showcasing the drama and reality of our work—it’s entertaining and insightful at the same time.

Expanding the World Nineball Tour from three events to 30 is a massive leap. What were the challenges?

Huge. For years, we only had three events with the same set of players. We realized we needed a proper tour structure to bring new talent through. That meant creating a ranking system, a professional calendar, sponsorship opportunities, and more. It’s been one of the toughest things we’ve ever done—turning a niche sport into a global professional circuit. Pool had reputational challenges, with links to gambling in the past, and we had to reset the sport’s image. Now, players can build full-time careers, and the World Nineball Tour is heading toward darts and snooker-level professionalism.

How did you pitch the Netflix idea and convince them this would work for a global audience?

Honestly, Matchroom itself is an incredible package. Eddie’s global profile, the drama of boxing, and the diversity of sports we promote—darts, snooker, gymnastics, pool—it’s all there. We’re promoters, storytellers, and PR machines at heart. That makes us appealing for any content platform. The Katie Taylor fight episode, for example, was both dramatic and deeply human. Matchroom isn’t just about events—it’s about stories, and Netflix recognized that.

What makes Matchroom’s approach to sports promotion unique compared to others?

The people. Everyone at Matchroom has passion for their job. Barry Hearn set the tone with his charisma and vision, and it’s ingrained in all of us. We’re relentless, creative, and we love what we do. That passion makes us unique—I don’t think anyone else compares.

How has working alongside Eddie Hearn, Frank Smith, and Barry Hearn shaped your journey?

It’s like having a time machine of experience. We can look back at how darts or snooker navigated challenges and apply those lessons. We learn from each other across sports and push one another to make events bigger and better. Having that pool of knowledge and leadership to lean on is invaluable.

Finally, what’s next for Matchroom? Any new regions or big expansions planned?

Right now, we’re focused on conquering the pool world. We’ve got three back-to-back events in Southeast Asia coming up in October, which is very exciting. The aim is to keep building, experimenting, learning, and taking each sport we touch to the next level.