GOLDFINGER GUNNING FOR BACK-TO-BACK UK OPEN TITLES
The 2024 Ladbrokes UK Open gets underway on Friday, as Andrew Gilding begins his defence of the title amongst a star-studded 158-player field at Butlin’s Minehead Resort.
The unique multi-board event, which takes place from March 1-3, will see PDC Tour Card Holders compete against Rileys Amateur Qualifiers and players from the Winmau Challenge and Development Tours.
Day One of the £600,000 event will see all 158 players in action, as the first four rounds take place across eight stages, with Friday’s bumper afternoon session getting underway from 1100 GMT.
The opening round will feature Tour Card Holders ranked 97-126, along with players from the 2023 Challenge and Development Tours, plus 16 Rileys Amateur Qualifiers.
The first round winners will be joined by Tour Card Holders ranked 65-96 in round two, while the third round will feature Tour Card Holders ranked 33-64, plus the 32 second round winners.
Friday evening’s fourth round will see the world’s top 32 enter the fray, including reigning champion Gilding, world number one Luke Humphries and teenage superstar Luke Littler.
Former champions Michael van Gerwen, Nathan Aspinall, Danny Noppert, Peter Wright, James Wade, Gary Anderson and Raymond van Barneveld will also enter at the fourth round stage, in what promises to be a blockbuster opening night.
Gilding stunned Van Gerwen to triumph in last year’s Minehead showpiece, denying the Dutch superstar in a last-leg shoot-out to become the oldest first-time winner of a televised PDC event.
The Suffolk star had previously made his breakthrough at this event in 2015, succumbing to Van Gerwen in an extraordinary semi-final, despite averaging over 108.
“I really don’t know what it is about this tournament that brings the best out of me,” admitted Gilding, who is bidding to become the fourth player to retain the UK Open title, along with Phil Taylor, Van Barneveld and Van Gerwen.
“It was unbelievable last year. I wasn’t feeling particularly confident about my form, so to lift the title was a dream come true.
“It still feels quite unreal. People say to me: ‘Nobody can ever take that away from you’. I’ve still got the trophy sitting next to me in the living room!
“It’s going to be a new experience for me as reigning champion, but hopefully that experience may help me if I get to the later stages.
“I don’t have to cross that hurdle anymore, so in those tight matches, I will have a little bit of extra confidence.”
World Champion Humphries will also be among the headline acts this weekend, as he sets his sights on a fourth consecutive televised ranking title.
The 29-year-old celebrated success on his last visit to Minehead in November, reeling off six straight legs to stun Van Gerwen in a remarkable conclusion to the Players Championship Finals.
Humphries – a UK Open runner-up in 2021 – has won 19 successive televised ranking matches since his quarter-final exit in October’s European Championship, and he’s hungry for further silverware on his Minehead return.
“I want to keep that run going,” declared Humphries, embarking on his seventh UK Open appearance in 2024.
“Obviously the last time I was at Minehead I won the title, so I would love to do the double, and I believe if I continue playing the way I have been, I stand every chance of picking up another major title.
“This tournament was where I made my big breakthrough, and if you look at the trajectory of my career since then, that’s what kick-started my rise, so it holds great memories for me.
“I would love to add this title to my honours list, but I think it’s one of the hardest to win. It’s a really unique tournament with the open draw, but that is what makes it so special.”
Ryan Searle will be another high-profile name entering the fray in round four, as the Somerset star bids to continue his blistering start to 2024 on home soil.
Searle reached three consecutive ProTour finals earlier this month, and after defeating his practice partner Anderson to claim his fifth PDC ranking title in Players Championship 3, he insists he has nobody to fear.
“I’m playing well. I’m full of confidence, and I think players will want to avoid me in the draw,” claimed Searle, a runner-up in Minehead at the 2021 Players Championship Finals.
“I’ve started the season really well. My averages are up there, my finishing has been really good, and the new darts are going nicely.
“I think my results and performances over the last few weeks show I’m one of the form players, and I feel that if I play my game then I can beat anybody.
“I was pretty consistent on TV last year, but it doesn’t help when you keep running into Luke Humphries in the last 16 of tournaments!
“Sometimes that’s just the way it goes, and this season I’m looking to make more of a breakthrough on the biggest stage.”
Following the conclusion of Friday afternoon’s third round action, an open draw will be made live on the Main Stage for round four, with further draws to be made following each subsequent round.
The action will continue on Saturday March 2 with the fifth and sixth rounds across two sessions, before the Main Stage will play host to the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final on Sunday March 3.
Main Stage matches across all three days will be broadcast live on ITV3 and ITV4 for UK viewers, through the PDC’s international broadcast partners, including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV for Rest of the World Subscribers.
Stage Two action on Friday and Saturday will be streamed exclusively for all PDCTV Subscribers worldwide, with commentary from Dan Dawson and Paul Nicholson.
In addition, matches from Stages Three to Eight on Friday and on Stages Three & Four on Saturday afternoon will be broadcast live on PDCTV.
Prize Fund
Winner: £110,000
Runner-up: £50,000
Semi-finalists: £30,000
Quarter-finalists: £15,000
Last 16: £10,000
Last 32: £5,000
Last 64: £2,500
Last 96: £1,500
Last 128: £1,000
Total: £600,000
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
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