UK Open

Last updated
UK Open
Cazoo UK Open logo.jpeg
Skyline Pavilion, Minehead, Somerset (cropped).jpg
Butlin's Minehead
Founded2003 (2003)
First season 2003
Organising body PDC
Country England
Venue(s) Butlin's Minehead
Most recent
champion(s)
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Dimitri Van den Bergh
(2024)
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]

Contents

History

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

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):

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

Year [a] Champion (average in final)ScoreRunner-up (average in final)Prize moneySponsorVenue
TotalChampionRunner-up
2003 Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor (98.03)18–8 Flag of England.svg   Shayne Burgess (91.36)£124,000£30,000£15,000 Sky Bet Premier Suite at Whites Hotel, Bolton
2004 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Roland Scholten (89.49)11–6 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg   John Part (85.98) Budweiser
2005 Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor (96.80)13–7 Flag of England.svg   Mark Walsh (84.52)
2006 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Raymond van Barneveld (91.51)13–7 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Barrie Bates (82.98)
2007 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Raymond van Barneveld (94.99)16–8 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Vincent van der Voort (88.76)£150,000 Blue Square
2008 Flag of England.svg   James Wade (94.65)11–7 Flag of the United States.svg   Gary Mawson (87.33)£178,000£35,000
2009 Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor (100.81)11–6 Flag of England.svg   Colin Osborne (93.24)£200,000£40,000£20,000
2010 Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor (97.71)11–5 Flag of Scotland.svg   Gary Anderson (92.41)Rileys Darts Zones
2011 Flag of England.svg   James Wade (96.25)11–8 Flag of England.svg   Wes Newton (88.51) Speedy Hire
2012 Flag of Scotland.svg   Robert Thornton (95.44)11–5 Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor (98.58)
2013 Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor (107.04)11–4 Flag of England.svg   Andy Hamilton (97.95)
2014 Flag of England.svg   Adrian Lewis (109.13)11–1 Flag of England.svg   Terry Jenkins (93.15)£250,000£50,000£25,000 Coral Butlin's Minehead, Minehead
2015 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Michael van Gerwen (98.43)11–5 Flag of Scotland.svg   Peter Wright (99.33)£300,000£60,000£30,000
2016 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Michael van Gerwen (106.68)11–4 Flag of Scotland.svg   Peter Wright (98.33)
2017 Flag of Scotland.svg   Peter Wright (100.44)11–6 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Gerwyn Price (97.78)£350,000£70,000£35,000
2018 Flag of Scotland.svg   Gary Anderson (95.71)11–7 Flag of Australia (converted).svg   Corey Cadby (99.78)
2019 Flag of England.svg   Nathan Aspinall (88.72)11–5 Flag of England.svg   Rob Cross (84.79)£450,000£100,000£40,000 Ladbrokes
2020 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Michael van Gerwen (101.42)11–9 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Gerwyn Price (99.16)
2021 Flag of England.svg   James Wade (102.52)11–5 Flag of England.svg   Luke Humphries (97.95) Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes
2022 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Danny Noppert (84.82)11–10 Flag of England.svg   Michael Smith (90.33) Cazoo Butlin's Minehead, Minehead
2023 Flag of England.svg   Andrew Gilding (95.46)11–10 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Michael van Gerwen (96.74)£600,000£110,000£50,000
2024 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg   Dimitri Van den Bergh (95.18)11–10 Flag of England.svg   Luke Humphries (96.07) Ladbrokes

Records and statistics

As of 5 March 2023.

Total finalist appearances

RankPlayerWonRunner-upFinalsAppearances
1 Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor 51614
2 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Michael van Gerwen 31417
Flag of England.svg   James Wade 30322
4 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Raymond van Barneveld 20217
5 Flag of Scotland.svg   Peter Wright 12317
6 Flag of Scotland.svg   Gary Anderson 11216
7 Flag of England.svg   Nathan Aspinall 1019
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg   Dimitri Van den Bergh 1017
Flag of England.svg   Andrew Gilding 10111
Flag of England.svg   Adrian Lewis 10120
Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Danny Noppert 1017
Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Roland Scholten 10111
Flag of Scotland.svg   Robert Thornton 10113
14 Flag of England.svg   Luke Humphries 0227
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Gerwyn Price 02211
16 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Barrie Bates 01112
Flag of England.svg   Shayne Burgess 0114
Flag of Australia (converted).svg   Corey Cadby 0111
Flag of England.svg   Rob Cross 0119
Flag of England.svg   Andy Hamilton 01116
Flag of England.svg   Terry Jenkins 01116
Flag of the United States.svg   Gary Mawson 0113
Flag of England.svg   Wes Newton 01114
Flag of England.svg   Colin Osborne 0119
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg   John Part 01114
Flag of England.svg   Michael Smith 01116
Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Vincent van der Voort 01117
Flag of England.svg   Mark Walsh 01113

Champions by country

CountryPlayersTotalFirst titleLast title
Flag of England.svg  England 51120032023
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 4720042022
Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 3320122018
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 1120242024

Nine-dart finishes

Fifteen 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.

PlayerYear (+ Round)MethodOpponentResultRef.
Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor 2004, 4th Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Flag of England.svg  Matt Chapman8–2 [11]
Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor 2005, Semi-Final 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Roland Scholten 11–6 [11]
Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor 2007, 5th Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Flag of England.svg   Wes Newton 11–5 [11]
Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor 2008, 4th Round 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 Flag of Scotland.svg   Jamie Harvey 9–1 [11]
Flag of England.svg   Mervyn King 2010, 5th Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Flag of Scotland.svg   Gary Anderson 8–9 [11]
Flag of Scotland.svg   Gary Anderson 2012, 3rd Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Flag of England.svg  Davey Dodds9–3 [11]
Flag of England.svg   Wes Newton 2013, 6th Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Flag of England.svg   Adrian Lewis 8–9 [12]
Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Michael van Gerwen 2016, 4th Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Flag of England.svg   Rob Cross 9–5 [11]
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Jonny Clayton 2020, 6th Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Flag of England.svg   Chris Dobey 10–8 [11]
Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Michael van Gerwen 2020, Semi-Final 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Ulster Banner.svg   Daryl Gurney 11–3 [11]
Flag of Poland.svg   Sebastian Białecki 2021, 1st Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; 141 CO Flag of Scotland.svg  Jim McEwan6–2 [13] [14]
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Jitse Van der Wal 2021, 2nd Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; 141 CO Flag of Poland.svg   Sebastian Białecki 3–6 [15] [16]
Flag of Spain.svg   José Justicia 2022, 3rd Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; 141 CO Flag of the Czech Republic.svg   Adam Gawlas 5–6 [17]
Flag of England.svg   James Wade 2022, 6th Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Flag of Croatia.svg   Boris Krčmar 10–8
Flag of England.svg   Michael Smith 2022, 6th Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Flag of Austria.svg   Mensur Suljović 10–9

   not televised

High averages

Ten highest UK Open one-match averages
AveragePlayerYear (+ Round)OpponentResult
118.66 Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor 2010, Last 32 Flag of England.svg   Kevin Painter 9–0
115.62 Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor 2009, Quarter-Final Flag of England.svg  Mark Lawrence10–0
115.51 Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor 2009, Last 32 Flag of England.svg  Ken Mather9–3
114.91 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Michael van Gerwen 2015, Last 16 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg   Kim Huybrechts 9–2
114.54 Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor 2008, Last 16 Flag of England.svg   Wes Newton 9–3
113.05 Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor 2010, Semi-Final Flag of England.svg   Denis Ovens 10–5
111.67 Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor 2015, Last 16 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Vincent van der Voort 9–3
110.88 Flag of Scotland.svg   Peter Wright 2017, Quarter-Final Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Raymond van Barneveld 10–8
110.81 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Michael van Gerwen 2020, Quarter-Final Flag of England.svg   Rob Cross 10–4
110.72 Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor 2012, Last 16 Flag of England.svg   Ronnie Baxter 9–4
Five highest tournament averages
AveragePlayerYear
107.82 Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor 2015
107.38 [18] Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor 2009
106.81 Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor 2013
106.43 Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor 2010
105.57 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Michael van Gerwen 2015

Media coverage

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.

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References

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Notes