UK Open
| UK Open | |
|---|---|
| sport | darts |
| organizer | PDC |
| Tournament type | Ranking tournament |
| venue |
Butlin's Resort , Minehead
|
| Competition period | March |
| Record winner |
Phil Taylor (5 ×)
|
| reigning winner |
 Michael van Gerwen
|
| Last event | UK Open 2020 |
| Next event | UK Open 2021 |
The UK Open is a darts tournament organized by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). In addition to the top 32 players, there are also numerous amateurs who fight for a starting place in several qualifying tournaments and can thus prove themselves against the best players in the world in front of the TV cameras. The tournament is also called the " FA Cup of Darts" by the fans because, due to the lack of a seeding list, the top players can meet at any time and amateurs thus have a real chance of establishing themselves in the tournament.
The first winner of the UK Open in 2003 was Phil Taylor, the reigning winner (2020) is the Dutchman Michael van Gerwen .
format
The tournament takes place on a weekend from Friday to Sunday.
Up until 2018, a UK Open Order of Merit created especially for this tournament was won in qualifying tournaments in which non-tour card holders could also participate. In the preliminary round as well as the first round, the places 65-96 of this ranking list and additional qualifiers faced each other. The 32 remaining players joined places 33-64 of the ranking for the second round. The top 32 players entered the game for the third round on Saturday. The first prize money of £ 1,750 was also distributed to these 64 remaining players.
In addition to a massive increase in prize money to a total of £ 450,000, the Professional Darts Corporation announced both an increase in the number of participants and a change in the qualification criteria for 2019.
All 128 tour card holders will be automatically invited to the UK Open 2019 . In addition, 16 places are awarded through qualifying tournaments taking place in England, the so-called "Rileys Amateur Qualifiers". There will be 16 more starting places via the Challenge Tour Order of Merit, so that a total of 160 players will compete in the UK Open 2019 for the first time.
Since there is no seeding list in the tournament, the next pairings are drawn after each round played.
Up to and including the round of 16, the duels are played on several boards (up to eight different ones) in parallel. From the quarter-finals onwards, the players play the overall winner of the UK Open on a board over a distance of best of 19 legs, in the final best of 21 legs.
Prize money
The prize money of £ 350,000 was distributed among the participants through 2018 as follows:
| position | Prize money |
|---|---|
| winner | £ 70,000 |
| finalist | £ 35,000 |
| Semi-finalists | £ 17,500 |
| Quarter finalists | £ 11,500 |
| Round of 16 players | £ 6,500 |
| Last 32 | £ 3,500 |
| Last 64 | £ 1,750 |
As of 2019, £ 450,000 in prize money will be distributed, which is distributed among the players as follows:
| position | Prize money |
|---|---|
| winner | £ 100,000 |
| finalist | £ 40,000 |
| Semi-finalists | £ 20,000 |
| Quarter finalists | £ 12,500 |
| Round of 16 players | £ 7,500 |
| Last 32 | £ 4,000 |
| Last 64 | £ 2,000 |
| Last 96 | £ 1,000 |
Final results
| year | winner | Result (in legs) |
finalist | Prize pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 |
Phil Taylor
|
18 : 8 |
Shayne Burgess
|
£ 124,000 |
| 2004 |
Roland Scholten
|
11 : 6 |
 John Part
|
£ 124,000 |
| 2005 |
Phil Taylor
|
13 : 7 |
Mark Walsh
|
£ 124,000 |
| 2006 |
Raymond van Barneveld
|
13 : 7 |
 Barrie Bates
|
£ 124,000 |
| 2007 |
Raymond van Barneveld
|
16 : 8 |
Vincent van der Voort
|
£ 150,000 |
| 2008 |
James Wade
|
11 : 7 |
 Gary Mawson
|
£ 178,000 |
| 2009 |
Phil Taylor
|
11 : 6 |
Colin Osborne
|
£ 200,000 |
| 2010 |
Phil Taylor
|
11 : 5 |
 Gary Anderson
|
£ 200,000 |
| 2011 |
James Wade
|
11 : 8 |
Wes Newton
|
£ 200,000 |
| 2012 |
Robert Thornton
|
11 : 5 |
Phil Taylor
|
£ 200,000 |
| 2013 |
Phil Taylor
|
11 : 4 |
Andy Hamilton
|
£ 200,000 |
| 2014 |
Adrian Lewis
|
11 : 1 |
Terry Jenkins
|
£ 250,000 |
| 2015 |
Michael van Gerwen
|
11 : 5 |
Peter Wright
|
£ 300,000 |
| 2016 |
Michael van Gerwen
|
11 : 4 |
Peter Wright
|
£ 300,000 |
| 2017 |
Peter Wright
|
11 : 6 |
Gerwyn Price
|
£ 350,000 |
| 2018 |
Gary Anderson
|
11 : 7 |
 Corey Cadby
|
£ 350,000 |
| 2019 |
Nathan Aspinall
|
11 : 5 |
Rob Cross
|
£ 450,000 |
| 2020 |
Michael van Gerwen
|
11 : 9 |
Gerwyn Price
|
£ 450,000 |
With his five titles, Phil Taylor is the current record winner of the UK Open.
Others
- Phil Taylor has already achieved a perfect nine dart finish four times , at the UK Open in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008.
- The Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld won the UK Open in 2006 and thus his first point tournament at the PDC. He beat the 13-time world champion Phil Taylor 11:10 on the way to the final, where he defeated Barrie Bates 13: 7.