2026 UK Open

Last updated

2026 Ladbrokes UK Open
Tournament information
Dates6–8 March 2026
Venue Butlin's Resort
Location Minehead, England
Organisation(s) Professional Darts Corporation (PDC)
Format Legs
Final – best of 21
Prize fund£750,000
Winner's share£120,000
«2025 2027»

The 2026 UK Open (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2026 Ladbrokes UK Open) is an upcoming professional darts tournament that is scheduled to take place from 6 to 8 March 2026 at the Butlin's Resort in Minehead, England. It will be the 24th staging of the UK Open by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). The winner will receive £120,000 from a total prize fund of £750,000.

Contents

The tournament's 160-player field will consist of all 128 PDC Tour Card holders, 8 top players from the 2025 editions of both the PDC Development Tour and the PDC Challenge Tour, and 16 amateur qualifiers. Players will enter the tournament incrementally based on their PDC Order of Merit ranking, with an open draw conducted for each round.

Luke Littler will be the defending champion, having defeated James Wade 11–2 in the 2025 final.

Overview

Background

The 2026 UK Open will be the 24th edition of the tournament to be staged by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) since the inaugural edition in 2003. [1] The tournament is commonly referred to as the "FA Cup of darts" due to its round-by-round open draw system. [2] [3] The first event was held at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton, England, and was won by Phil Taylor, who defeated Shayne Burgess 18–8 in the final. [4] Taylor remains the most successful player in the event's history, winning it a total of five times. [1] Following a decade of being held in Bolton, the event moved to the Butlin's Resort in Minehead in 2014 and has stayed there, with the exception of the 2021 edition held in Milton Keynes. [5] [6]

The 2026 edition will be held from 6 to 8 March 2026 at the Butlin's Resort in Minehead. British gambling company Ladbrokes continued its sponsorship of the event. [7] Luke Littler will enter the tournament as defending champion, having defeated James Wade 11–2 in the 2025 final to win his first UK Open title. [8]

Format

All 160 participants will be unseeded, although players will enter the tournament incrementally: PDC Tour Card holders ranked 97–128 on the PDC Order of Merit enter in the first round along with all other qualifiers; those ranked 65–96 enter in the second round; those ranked 33–64 enter in the third round; and those ranked 1–32 enter in the fourth round. An open draw will be conducted for each round. [9] [10]

Prize money

The total prize fund for the event increased from £600,000 in 2025 to £750,000 in 2026. [11] The winner will receive £120,000. The prize money breakdown is: [12]

Stage (no. of players)Prize money
(Total: £750,000)
Winner(1)£120,000
Runner-up(1)£60,000
Semi-finalists(2)£35,000
Quarter-finalists(4)£20,000
Last 16 (sixth round)(8)£12,500
Last 32 (fifth round)(16)£7,500
Last 64 (fourth round)(32)£3,000
Last 96 (third round)(32)£2,000
Last 128 (second round)(32)£1,250
Last 160 (first round)(32)n/a

Participants

The 128 Tour Card holders will have a staggered entry based on their PDC Order of Merit ranking on 26 February 2026. [13] They were joined by the top eight non-qualified players from both the 2025 Challenge Tour and Development Tour Orders of Merit, as well as 16 amateur qualifiers. [9]

Tour Card Holders ranked 1–32 (receiving byes into fourth round)

  1. Flag of England.svg   Luke Littler
  2. Flag of England.svg   Luke Humphries
  3. Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Gian van Veen
  4. Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Michael van Gerwen
  5. Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Jonny Clayton

PDC Development Tour qualifiers (starting in first round)

The top eight ranked players from the 2025 PDC Development Tour who do not have a Tour Card for the 2026 season have provisionally qualified for the first round.

  1. Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Jamai van den Herik  (NED)
  2. Flag of England.svg Ryan Branley (ENG)
  3. Flag of England.svg James Beeton (ENG)
  4. Flag of England.svg Jenson Walker (ENG)
  5. Flag of Germany.svg Jannis Barkhausen (GER)
  6. Flag of England.svg Patrik Williams (ENG)
  7. Flag of England.svg Nathan Potter (ENG)
  8. Flag of England.svg Henry Coates (ENG)

PDC Challenge Tour qualifiers (starting in first round)

The top eight ranked players from the 2025 PDC Challenge Tour who do not have a Tour Card for the 2026 season qualified for the first round.

  1. Flag of England.svg  Ted Evetts  (ENG)
  2. Flag of Germany.svg  Michael Unterbuchner  (GER)
  3. Flag of England.svg Jack Tweddell (ENG)
  4. Flag of England.svg Sam Spivey (ENG)
  5. Flag of England.svg  Scott Waites  (ENG)
  6. Flag of Scotland.svg Scott Campbell (SCO)
  7. Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Danny van Trijp  (NED)
  8. Flag of England.svg Graham Hall (ENG)

Amateur qualifiers (starting in first round)

16 amateur qualifiers are being held, with eight players qualifying through 'PDC in the Community' events, and the other eight qualifying through events at Rileys venues. [14]

References

  1. 1 2 "UK Open". Mastercaller. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  2. ↑ "Andrew Gilding shocks Michael van Gerwen to win UK Open". BBC Sport. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  3. ↑ Liew, Jonathan (3 March 2025). "'FA Cup of darts' keeps grassroots flame alive as big-money era shapes to snuff it out". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  4. ↑ "Darts: Taylor's power firing on all cylinders again". Belfast Telegraph. 2 June 2003. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  5. ↑ "Adrian Lewis storms to fourth major title". St Helens Star. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  6. ↑ "The UK Open to move to the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes this March". Sky Sports. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  7. ↑ "UK Open 2026". Mastercaller. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  8. ↑ Abraham, Timothy (2 March 2025). "Littler thrashes Wade to win UK Open in style". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  9. 1 2 "UK Open 2026". PDPA. Archived from the original on 14 February 2026. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  10. ↑ "UK Open Darts: Rounds 1-3 explained". Target Darts. 25 February 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  11. ↑ "UK Open 2025". Mastercaller. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  12. ↑ Phillips, Josh (31 March 2025). "Biggest prize money increase in PDC history confirmed". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  13. ↑ "UK Open Race". dartsrankings.com. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  14. ↑ Gorton, Josh (10 February 2026). "Teenage prospect Gilding headlines Amateur Qualifiers for Ladbrokes UK Open". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
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