Day One Madness at the UK Open round-up

UK Open action began in thrilling fashion on Friday in Minehead, with Luke Littler and Luke Humphries both delivering clinical finishing displays to move safely into round five, while Danny Noppert stole the headlines with a perfect nine-dart leg during a dramatic opening day.

The first day of the £750,000 tournament proved to be a marathon for players and fans alike, as an incredible 125 matches were contested across eight stages at Butlin’s Minehead Resort. With four rounds scheduled across an extended double session, the massive 157-player field was dramatically reduced to just 32 competitors by the end of Friday night’s play.

Defending champion Littler began his quest to retain the title in emphatic fashion, producing a dominant 10–3 victory over Damon Heta. The world number one used the match as a measure of revenge after losing to the Australian in the quarter-finals of the 2024 edition of the tournament.

Littler dazzled the Minehead crowd with some spectacular finishing, including a stunning 170 checkout, one of the sport’s most celebrated finishes. Earlier in the contest he had already delighted spectators by taking out 132, which included two bullseyes, underlining the clinical nature of his finishing as he powered into the next stage.

Reigning world champion Humphries also produced a statement performance in his opening contest, easing past Luke Woodhouse with an impressive 105 average. Humphries demonstrated his scoring power and finishing accuracy by landing four ton-plus checkouts, marking a confident start to his campaign as he searches for his first UK Open title.

While Littler and Humphries both impressed, the standout performance statistically came from Scotland’s Gary Anderson. The 2018 champion rolled back the years with a superb display against Dirk van Duijvenbode, averaging 107.42 and firing in eight maximums during a convincing 10–6 victory.

Anderson’s success ensured that he remained among a group of former champions still in contention heading into Saturday’s play. He is joined in round five by notable winners such as Michael van Gerwen, James Wade and Peter Wright, alongside Littler and Noppert.

Noppert produced arguably the most magical moment of the day in his clash with Dimitri Van den Bergh. In a meeting between two former UK Open champions, the Dutchman delivered perfection by landing a sensational nine-darter on his way to a 10–4 victory, providing one of the standout highlights of the opening day.

Elsewhere, van Gerwen showed his quality in a high-standard encounter against Nathan Aspinall, the 2019 champion. The Dutch superstar averaged 101 to secure the win, while three-time champion Wade survived a dramatic battle against Chris Dobey, eventually edging through in a deciding-leg thriller.

Wright also made a solid start to his challenge for another televised title. The Scotsman claimed victories over Darius Labanauskas and Cameron Menzies to book his place in round five. Meanwhile, Welsh stars Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton both progressed comfortably with convincing wins.

One of the evening’s biggest surprises saw world championship runner-up Gian van Veen exit the competition. The Dutchman, one of the highest-ranked players in the draw, suffered a 10–7 defeat to Rob Cross in a high-quality match where both competitors averaged 101.

Another eye-catching display came from Wessel Nijman, who averaged over a ton in a commanding victory over two-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld. Earlier in the day, van Barneveld had survived a scare against Karel Sedlacek, missing five match darts before eventually scraping through.

Elsewhere, Stephen Bunting defeated French trailblazer Thibault Tricole to advance, while Josh Rock produced a dramatic comeback victory against William O’Connor in a deciding-leg battle.

German ace Gabriel Clemens also progressed in thrilling fashion, finishing 145 in the final leg to defeat Richard Veenstra. His compatriots Martin Schindler, Dominik Gruellich and Kai Gotthardt also advanced to round five, marking a strong showing for German darts.

Schindler defeated Joe Cullen 10–8, while Gruellich and Gotthardt combined for seven match wins across the earlier rounds to record their deepest runs yet in a televised ranking event.

However, Leon Weber was unable to join them in the next stage after losing to 2022 runner-up Michael Smith. Meanwhile, 2023 champion Andrew Gilding suffered an early exit after falling to former European Champion Ross Smith.

Other notable winners on the day included Daryl Gurney, Mike De Decker and Mensur Suljovic, while former semi-finalists Dave Chisnall and Keane Barry also progressed.

International representation remains strong heading into Saturday’s action. Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski advanced alongside Latvia’s Madars Razma and Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak, adding a continental flavour to the later stages of the competition.

Among the other players moving forward were Ryan Searle, who began his campaign with a comfortable victory, and Kevin Doets, who averaged just under 99 to eliminate Jeffrey de Graaf.

Ryan Joyce ended the impressive run of Charlie Manby in round four, while Martin Lukeman and Darryl Pilgrim also secured their spots in the fifth round.

The draw for round five was conducted live on the main stage following the evening session. One of the standout ties will see Littler face Doets, while Humphries meets six-time televised finalist Chisnall.

Anderson will take on Schindler in another intriguing clash, while Price faces Nijman in what many are predicting could be one of the ties of the round.

Following Saturday afternoon’s fifth round matches, the draw for round six will be made, with the evening session set to take place across two stages as the race for the 2026 UK Open title continues.

Day One Madness at the UK Open round-up

2026 Ladbrokes UK Open

Friday March 6

Afternoon Session

Main Stage

Round One

Charlie Manby 6-3 Stefan Bellmont

Sam Spivey 6-2 Kyle Gilding

Pascal Rupprecht 6-1 Jenson Walker

Mervyn King 6-4 Aden Kirk

Michael Unterbuchner 6-5 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez

Adam Leek 6-5 David Sharp

Rhys Griffin 6-2 Filip Bereza

Stephen Burton 6-2 Jake Eichen

Cristo Reyes 6-3 Graham Usher

Tyler Thorpe 6-0 Pero Ljubic

Kai Gotthardt 6-4 Daniel Lee

Jack Todd 6-4 Carl Sneyd

Stephen Rosney 6-5 Clive Langford

Alexander Merkx 6-3 Jannis Barkhausen

Tom Sykes 6-2 Sean Ryan

Sietse Lap 6-3 Ted Evetts

Samuel Whittaker 6-4 Jeffrey de Zwaan

Oliver King 6-3 Ryan Branley

Benjamin Pratnemer 6-3 Callum Goffin

Darius Labanauskas 6-4 Callum Francis

Owen Bates 6-3 Yorick Hofkens

Niall Culleton 6-3 Lewis Pearse

Jamai van den Herik 6-3 Graham Hall

Jurjen van der Velde 6-4 Jack Tweddell

Arno Merk 6-5 James Beeton

Scott Campbell BYE (Danny van Trijp withdrew due to personal reasons)

Ron Meulenkamp 6-2 Samuel Price

Jeffrey Sparidaans 6-4 Scott Waites

Patrik Williams 6-4 Simon Stevenson

Marvin Kraft BYE (Matthias Ehlers withdrew due to injury)

Chris Landman 6-2 Nathan Potter

Henry Coates 6-3 Neil Wild

Round Two

Sebastian Bialecki 6-5 Christian Kist

Tom Bissell 6-2 Jimmy van Schie

Darryl Pilgrim 6-4 Beau Greaves

Pascal Rupprecht 6-5 Cam Crabtree

Thomas Lovely 6-4 Shane McGuirk

Adam Gawlas 6-0 Tavis Dudeney

Jim Long 6-0 Tytus Kanik

Sam Spivey 6-5 Max Hopp

Rob Owen 6-4 Stefaan Henderyck

Darius Labanauskas 6-3 Maximilian Czerwinski

Greg Ritchie 6-3 Adam Leek

Leon Weber 6-5 Jurjen van der Velde

Owen Bates 6-4 Wesley Plaisier

Oskar Lukasiak 6-2 Rhys Griffin

Henry Coates 6-4 Adam Paxton

Charlie Manby 6-2 Tyler Thorpe

Niall Culleton BYE (Viktor Tingstrom has withdrawn due to personal reasons)

Adam Warner 6-5 Ron Meulenkamp

Dominik Gruellich 6-1 Jamai van den Herik

Cristo Reyes 6-1 Sietse Lap

Patrik Williams 6-5 Cor Dekker

Scott Campbell 6-1 Dennie Olde Kalter

Alexander Merkx 6-2 Marvin van Velzen

Jeffrey Sparidaans 6-3 Chris Landman

Andy Boulton 6-4 Mervyn King

Michael Unterbuchner 6-5 Maik Kuivenhoven

Benjamin Pratnemer 6-1 Samuel Whittaker

Kai Gotthardt 6-2 Marvin Kraft

Adam Lipscombe 6-0 Jack Todd

Bradley Brooks 6-5 Oliver King

Tom Sykes 6-4 Arno Merk

Stephen Rosney 6-4 Stephen Burton

Round Three

Raymond van Barneveld 6-5 Karel Sedlacek

Ricky Evans 6-2 Brendan Dolan

Peter Wright 6-3 Darius Labanauskas

Kevin Doets 6-4 Ricardo Pietreczko

Gabriel Clemens 6-4 Sebastian Bialecki

Keane Barry 6-5 Kim Huybrechts

Joe Cullen 6-3 Pascal Rupprecht

Mensur Suljovic 6-2 Lukas Wenig

Niels Zonneveld 6-3 Tom Bissell

Connor Scutt 6-3 Jeffrey Sparidaans

Alexander Merkx 6-5 Sam Spivey

Jeffrey de Graaf 6-1 Adam Warner

Jim Long 6-5 Callan Rydz

Darryl Pilgrim 6-5 Rob Owen

Kai Gotthardt 6-4 Niko Springer

William O’Connor 6-4 Ryan Meikle

Adam Lipscombe 6-5 Nick Kenny

Andy Boulton 6-4 Patrik Williams

Henry Coates 6-4 Michael Unterbuchner

Leon Weber 6-5 Mario Vandenbogaerde

Richard Veenstra 6-4 Alan Soutar

Greg Ritchie 6-5 Mickey Mansell

Thibault Tricole 6-4 Stephen Rosney

Tom Sykes 6-4 Cristo Reyes

Madars Razma 6-2 Adam Gawlas

Dominik Gruellich 6-4 Justin Hood

Oskar Lukasiak 6-3 Bradley Brooks

Charlie Manby 6-4 James Hurrell

Martin Lukeman 6-4 Thomas Lovely

Scott Campbell 6-2 Ian White

Niall Culleton 6-4 Owen Bates

Benjamin Pratnemer 6-4 Scott Williams

Evening Session

Round Four

Rob Cross 10-7 Gian van Veen

Luke Humphries 10-3 Luke Woodhouse

Luke Littler 10-3 Damon Heta

Michael van Gerwen 10-8 Nathan Aspinall

Danny Noppert 10-4 Dimitri Van den Bergh

Martin Schindler 10-8 Joe Cullen

Gary Anderson 10-6 Dirk van Duijvenbode

James Wade 10-9 Chris Dobey

Mensur Suljovic 10-5 Jermaine Wattimena

Michael Smith 10-8 Leon Weber

Oskar Lukasiak 10-7 Benjamin Pratnemer

Keane Barry 10-2 Henry Coates

Gerwyn Price 10-3 Greg Ritchie

Martin Lukeman 10-6 Ritchie Edhouse

Ross Smith 10-4 Andrew Gilding

Kai Gotthardt 10-8 Tom Sykes

Dominik Gruellich 10-8 Niall Culleton

Krzysztof Ratajski 10-4 Ricky Evans

Madars Razma 10-9 Jim Long

Peter Wright 10-6 Cameron Menzies

Kevin Doets 10-5 Jeffrey de Graaf

Stephen Bunting 10-5 Thibault Tricole

Daryl Gurney 10-7 Niels Zonneveld

Ryan Joyce 10-6 Charlie Manby

Gabriel Clemens 10-9 Richard Veenstra

Wessel Nijman 10-1 Raymond van Barneveld

Darryl Pilgrim 10-5 Connor Scutt

Josh Rock 10-9 William O’Connor

Jonny Clayton 10-2 Alexander Merkx

Ryan Searle 10-7 Andy Boulton

Mike De Decker 10-8 Adam Lipscombe

Dave Chisnall 10-5 Scott Campbell

Saturday March 7

Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)

Round Five

Main Stage

Gary Anderson v Martin Schindler

Wessel Nijman v Gerwyn Price

Kevin Doets v Luke Littler

Luke Humphries v Dave Chisnall

Stage Two

Darryl Pilgrim v Jonny Clayton

Peter Wright v Danny Noppert

Mike De Decker v Rob Cross

Kai Gotthardt v Michael van Gerwen

Stage Three

Ross Smith v Daryl Gurney

Mensur Suljovic v Stephen Bunting

Josh Rock v Dominik Gruellich

Ryan Joyce v Keane Barry

Stage Four

Martin Lukeman v Madars Razma

Gabriel Clemens v James Wade

Oskar Lukasiak v Krzysztof Ratajski

Ryan Searle v Michael Smith

Evening Session (1900 GMT)

Round Six

2x Stages, 4 Matches per board

All matches best of 19 legs

Viktor Tingstrom and Danny van Trijp withdrew from the 2026 Ladbrokes UK Open due to personal reasons. Matthias Ehlers withdrew due to injury. Their opponents in their respective scheduled matches received a Bye on Friday afternoon, per PDC Rule 3.7.