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UK Open

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UK Open
Image
Image
Butlin's Minehead
Founded2003 (2003)
First season2003
Organizing bodyPDC
CountryEngland
VenueButlin's Minehead
Most recent
champion
Image Luke Littler
(2026)
Tournament formatLegs

The Ladbrokes UK Open is a ranking major darts tournament held annually at the Butlins Minehead Resort by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) in England.[1] The event is often referred to as the "FA Cup of darts" as it has an unseeded open draw made after each round, and entry is open to players at all levels of darts.[2] One-hundred-and-sixty players compete in the multi-board event over eight-stages before the PDC’s Top 32 enter the tournament in the fourth round. The tournament has a prize fund of £600,000; the victor’s prize is £110,000.[3]

History

[edit]

From 2003 to 2013, the UK Open took place in June each year at the Reebok Stadium, in Bolton. In 2014, it moved to Butlin's Minehead taking place in early March. Phil Taylor beat Shayne Burgess in the inaugural final. Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld won the tournament in 2006, in his first appearance in a PDC ranking event. He knocked out 13-times World Champion Phil Taylor 11–10 en route to the final where he beat Barrie Bates 13–7. He also successfully defended the title in 2007, again beating Taylor en route.

As the event has amateur and semi-professional qualifiers, it has produced some upset results over the years.[4] In 2014, Aden Kirk, playing in his first televised match, beat defending and five-time champion Phil Taylor 9–7 in the third round.[5] Kirk then beat Peter Wright 9–5 in the next round.[6] In 2016, Rileys amateur qualifier Barry Lynn recorded a 9–3 win over reigning world champion Gary Anderson and reached the quarter-finals.[7] A year later, Anderson lost to another Rileys qualifier, Paul Hogan, who followed up by beating Adrian Lewis in the next round.[8]

Taylor achieved the perfect nine-dart finish four times (2004, 2005, 2007 & 2008). Mervyn King (2010), Gary Anderson (2012), Wes Newton (2013), Michael van Gerwen (2016 & 2020), Jonny Clayton (2020), Sebastian Białecki (2021), Jitse van der Wal (2021), José Justicia (2022), James Wade (2022) and Michael Smith (2022) have also achieved a nine-dart leg (although Newton's, Białecki’s, van der Wal’s and Justicia's were not televised live, while Clayton's and Smith's were only live on the PDC website). The tournament had a different runner-up for the first 13 years.

Because of extreme weather conditions and fears for the safety of visiting fans the unprecedented decision was taken by the host venue Butlins to play the entire 2018 UK Open behind closed doors leaving the public only being able to watch the event though ITV4’s live coverage and the PDC live web feed.[9]

The Tournament was moved to the Marshall Arena in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and played behind closed doors.[10]

Format

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Qualifying events for amateur players are organised by Rileys and held in various locations across the UK. 16 players qualify through these events.

The format is as follows (as of 2020):

  • First round: The 16 Rileys qualifiers, 8 Challenge Tour qualifiers, 8 Development Tour qualifiers and Tour Card holders ranked 97–128 in the PDC Order of Merit.
  • Second round: Players ranked 65–96 in the PDC Order of Merit join the 32 winners of the first round.
  • Third round: Players ranked 33–64 join the 32 winners of the second round.
  • Fourth round to final: Players ranked 1–32 in the PDC Order of Merit join the 32 winners of the third round.

The draws for the first three rounds are made in full after all qualifying players are known, while the draws for the fourth round onward are made separately on stage as soon as each preceding round has concluded.

Finals

[edit]
Year Champion (average in final) Score Runner-up (average in final) Prize money Sponsor Venue
Total Champion Runner-up
2003 Image Phil Taylor (98.03) 18–8 Image Shayne Burgess (91.36) £124,000 £30,000 £15,000 Sky Bet Premier Suite at Whites Hotel, Bolton
2004 Image Roland Scholten (89.49) 11–6 Image John Part (85.98) Budweiser
2005 Image Phil Taylor (96.80) 13–7 Image Mark Walsh (84.52)
2006 Image Raymond van Barneveld (91.51) 13–7 Image Barrie Bates (82.98)
2007 Image Raymond van Barneveld (94.99) 16–8 Image Vincent van der Voort (88.76) £150,000 Blue Square
2008 Image James Wade (94.65) 11–7 Image Gary Mawson (87.33) £178,000 £35,000
2009 Image Phil Taylor (100.81) 11–6 Image Colin Osborne (93.24) £200,000 £40,000 £20,000
2010 Image Phil Taylor (97.71) 11–5 Image Gary Anderson (92.41) Rileys Darts Zones
2011 Image James Wade (96.25) 11–8 Image Wes Newton (88.51) Speedy Hire
2012 Image Robert Thornton (95.44) 11–5 Image Phil Taylor (98.58)
2013 Image Phil Taylor (107.04) 11–4 Image Andy Hamilton (97.95)
2014 Image Adrian Lewis (109.13) 11–1 Image Terry Jenkins (93.15) £250,000 £50,000 £25,000 Coral Butlin's Minehead, Minehead
2015 Image Michael van Gerwen (98.43) 11–5 Image Peter Wright (99.33) £300,000 £60,000 £30,000
2016 Image Michael van Gerwen (106.68) 11–4 Image Peter Wright (98.33)
2017 Image Peter Wright (100.44) 11–6 Image Gerwyn Price (97.78) £350,000 £70,000 £35,000
2018 Image Gary Anderson (95.71) 11–7 Image Corey Cadby (99.78)
2019 Image Nathan Aspinall (88.72) 11–5 Image Rob Cross (84.79) £450,000 £100,000 £40,000 Ladbrokes
2020 Image Michael van Gerwen (101.42) 11–9 Image Gerwyn Price (99.16)
2021 Image James Wade (102.52) 11–5 Image Luke Humphries (97.95) Arena MK, Milton Keynes
2022 Image Danny Noppert (84.82) 11–10 Image Michael Smith (90.33) Cazoo Butlin's Minehead, Minehead
2023 Image Andrew Gilding (95.46) 11–10 Image Michael van Gerwen (96.74) £600,000 £110,000 £50,000
2024 Image Dimitri Van den Bergh (95.18) 11–10 Image Luke Humphries (96.07) Ladbrokes
2025 Image Luke Littler (101.51) 11–2 Image James Wade (88.06)
2026 Image Luke Littler (99.58) 11–7 Image James Wade (89.49) £750,000 £120,000 £60,000

Records and statistics

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As of 8 March 2026.

Total finalist appearances

[edit]
Rank Player Won Runner-up Finals Appearances
1 Image Phil Taylor 51614
2 Image James Wade 32523
3 Image Michael van Gerwen 31418
4 Image Raymond van Barneveld 20218
Image Luke Littler 2023
6 Image Peter Wright 12318
7 Image Gary Anderson 11217
8 Image Roland Scholten 10111
Image Robert Thornton 10113
Image Adrian Lewis 10120
Image Nathan Aspinall 10110
Image Danny Noppert 1018
Image Andrew Gilding 10112
Image Dimitri Van den Bergh 1018
15 Image Gerwyn Price 02212
Image Luke Humphries 0228
17 Image Shayne Burgess 0114
Image John Part 01114
Image Mark Walsh 01113
Image Barrie Bates 01112
Image Vincent van der Voort 01117
Image Gary Mawson 0113
Image Colin Osborne 0119
Image Wes Newton 01114
Image Andy Hamilton 01116
Image Terry Jenkins 01116
Image Corey Cadby 0111
Image Rob Cross 01110
Image Michael Smith 01117
  • Active players are shown in bold
  • Only players who reached the final are included
  • In the event of identical records, players are sorted by date first achieved

Champions by country

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Country Players Total First title Last title
Image England 6 13 2003 2026
Image Netherlands 4 7 2004 2022
Image Scotland 3 3 2012 2018
Image Belgium 1 1 2024 2024

Nine-dart finishes

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Sixteen nine-darters have been thrown at the UK Open. The first one was in 2004, and eleven of them have been televised. Wes Newton in 2013, Sebastian Białecki and Jitse van der Wal in 2021 and José Justicia in 2022 hit nine-darters that were not broadcast.

Player Year (+ Round) Method Opponent Result Ref.
Image Phil Taylor 2004, 4th Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Image Matt Chapman 8–2 [11]
Image Phil Taylor 2005, Semi-Final 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Image Roland Scholten 11–6 [11]
Image Phil Taylor 2007, 5th Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Image Wes Newton 11–5 [11]
Image Phil Taylor 2008, 4th Round 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 Image Jamie Harvey 9–1 [11]
Image Mervyn King 2010, 5th Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Image Gary Anderson 8–9 [11]
Image Gary Anderson 2012, 3rd Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Image Davey Dodds 9–3 [11]
Image Wes Newton 2013, 6th Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12† Image Adrian Lewis 8–9 [12]
Image Michael van Gerwen 2016, 4th Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Image Rob Cross 9–5 [11]
Image Jonny Clayton 2020, 6th Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Image Chris Dobey 10–8 [11]
Image Michael van Gerwen 2020, Semi-Final 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Image Daryl Gurney 11–3 [11]
Image Sebastian Białecki 2021, 1st Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; 141 CO † Image Jim McEwan 6–2 [13][14]
Image Jitse van der Wal 2021, 2nd Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; 141 CO † Image Sebastian Białecki 3–6 [15][16]
Image José Justicia 2022, 3rd Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; 141 CO † Image Adam Gawlas 5–6 [17]
Image James Wade 2022, 6th Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Image Boris Krčmar 10–8
Image Michael Smith 2022, 6th Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Image Mensur Suljović 10–9
Image Danny Noppert 2026, 4th Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Image Dimitri Van den Bergh 10–4

 †  not televised

High averages

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Ten highest UK Open one-match averages
Average Player Year (+ Round) Opponent Result
118.66 Image Phil Taylor 2010, Last 32 Image Kevin Painter 9–0
115.92 Germany  Niko Springer 2025, 1st Round Norway  Cor Dekker 6–2
115.62 Image Phil Taylor 2009, Quarter-Final Image Mark Lawrence 10–0
115.51 Image Phil Taylor 2009, Last 32 Image Ken Mather 9–3
114.91 Image Michael van Gerwen 2015, Last 16 Image Kim Huybrechts 9–2
114.54 Image Phil Taylor 2008, Last 16 Image Wes Newton 9–3
113.05 Image Phil Taylor 2010, Semi-Final Image Denis Ovens 10–5
111.67 Image Phil Taylor 2015, Last 16 Image Vincent van der Voort 9–3
110.88 Image Peter Wright 2017, Quarter-Final Image Raymond van Barneveld 10–8
110.81 Image Michael van Gerwen 2020, Quarter-Final Image Rob Cross 10–4
110.72 Image Phil Taylor 2012, Last 16 Image Ronnie Baxter 9–4
Five highest tournament averages
Average Player Year
107.82 Image Phil Taylor 2015
107.38[18] Image Phil Taylor 2009
106.81 Image Phil Taylor 2013
106.43 Image Phil Taylor 2010
105.57 Image Michael van Gerwen 2015

Media coverage

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From 2003 until 2013, coverage for the UK Open was shown on Sky Sports in June. In 2014 the tournament was moved to March and coverage of the event moved to ITV4.

References

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  1. ↑ "Ladbrokes UK Open". PDC. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  2. ↑ "UK Open Darts 2020 schedule and draw confirmed". Metro. 2020-02-26. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  3. ↑ "Draw and Schedule for 2020 UK Open confirmed". Darts News. 2020-02-24. Archived from the original on 2020-03-20. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  4. ↑ "Five biggest ever UK Open darts shocks after Lynn upsets Anderson". coral.co.uk. 6 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "Coral UK Open: Phil Taylor shocked by television debutant Aden Kirk in Minehead". Sky Sports. 3 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "Coral UK Open - Saturday Afternoon". PDC. Archived from the original on March 8, 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  7. ↑ "Gary Anderson shocked by amateur Barry Lynn in UK Open, while Michael van Gerwen hits nine-darter". Sky Sports. 5 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Darts: Berkshire star Paul Hogan beats World Champions Gary Anderson and Adrian Lewis at UK Open". Reading Chronicle. 9 March 2017.
  9. ↑ "PDC Coral UK Open at Butlin's in Minehead to be played with no fans due to 'unprecedented extreme weather'". Somerset Live. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  10. ↑ "The UK Open to Move to Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes this March," Sky Sports, 26 January 2021.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 McGourty, Dave (March 2020). "A list of UK Open televised nine-dart finishes". The Stats Zone. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  12. ↑ "UK Open: Wes Newton hits nine-dart finish but still loses in last 16". 11 June 2013.
  13. ↑ "Game Detail". DartConnect. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  14. ↑ "RECORD BREAKING DEBUTANT BIALECKI PINS EARLY NINE-DART FINISH TO BEGIN 2021 UK OPEN". 5 March 2021.
  15. ↑ "UK Open: Lisa Ashton sets women's scoring record as Peter Wright and Gary Anderson crash out on day one". Sky Sports. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  16. ↑ "Game Detail". DartConnect. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  17. ↑ "Game Detail". DartsConnect. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  18. ↑ "2009 UK Open Stats". Dartsdatabase. Retrieved 4 March 2019.

Notes

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  • a Each year is linked to an article about that particular event's draw.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=UK_Open&oldid=1360198057"