Ladbrokes UK Open 2026 | Day One Preview and Order of Play

The 2026 UK Open commences in Minehead on Friday with the opening four rounds to be contested across eight stages.

The most frenetic day on the darting calendar features no fewer than 126 matches held over two sessions, with 158 players being whittled down to just 32 by the end of the evening.

The opening three rounds will be held in a marathon session from 11am GMT, before the world’s top 32 enter the fray in the evening’s Fourth Round.

Round One sees Tour Card Holders ranked from 97-128 joined by the eight PDC in the Community Qualifiers, eight Rileys Amateur Qualifiers and 16 players from the 2025 Challenge Tour and Development Tour.

World Championship star Charlie Manby takes on Swiss number one Stefan Bellmont to kick off the action on the Main Stage, while the Stage Two action sees 2014 semi-finalist Mervyn King face Aden Kirk – who famously knocked out Phil Taylor in Minehead that year.

Other notable first round ties include resurgent Spaniard Cristo Reyes up against 2025 World Seniors Championship finalist Graham Usher and former BDO World Champion Scott Waites facing Dutch ace Jeffrey Sparidaans.

The second round action on the Main Stage sees former Players Championship event winner Sebastian Bialecki take on 2012 Lakeside Champion Christian Kist.

Reigning WDF World Champion Jimmy van Schie marks his UK Open debut with a showdown against in-form Tom Bissell, while three-time Women’s World Champion Beau Greaves – who reached the Fourth Round here 12 months ago – start out against Darryl Pilgrim.

Former WDF World Champion Shane McGuirk looks to continue his fine start to life as a PDC Tour Card holder when he faces Thomas Lovely on Stage Two, before 2023 UK Open semi-finalist Adam Gawlas meets Tavis Dudeney and Poland’s Tytus Kanik plays Canada’s Jim Long.

The likes of Wesley Plaisier, Cam Crabtree, Bradley Brooks and Rob Owen also enter at the second round stage.

Confirmed Third Round ties include two-time UK Open champion Raymond van Barneveld against in-form Karel Sedlacek – who reached the semi-finals of Players Championship 5.

Crowd favourite Ricky Evans, who reached his maiden major semi-final here in 2024, takes on veteran Brendan Dolan – who competed in the inaugural UK Open back in 2003.

Kevin Doets, quarter-finalist in Players Championship 6, faces a tough opening assignment against German ace Ricardo Pietreczko on Stage Two, before Belgian star Kim Huybrechts faces 2022 UK Open semi-finalist Keane Barry.

Germany’s Lukas Wenig and Austrian stalwart Mensur Suljovic collide on Stage Three, while Ryan Meikle faces William O’Connor on Stage Five and Alan Soutar and Richard Veenstra go head-to-head on Stage Six.

Peter Wright, the 2017 UK Open champion, is among the star names to enter in Round Three, alongside the likes of Joe Cullen, Callan Rydz and Justin Hood.

The top 32 players on the PDC Order of Merit will begin their title challenges in Round Four on Friday evening, including defending champion Luke Littler and world number two Luke Humphries.

Former champions Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, Danny Noppert, James Wade, Nathan Aspinall, Dimitri Van den Bergh and Andrew Gilding will also enter the event in Round Four.

Following the conclusion of Round Three, an open draw will be made live on the Main Stage for round four, with further draws to be made following each subsequent round.

First Round, Second Round and Third Round matches are to be contested over the best of 11 legs, while Fourth Round ties are best of 19 legs.

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UK Open 2026 Day One Schedule of Play

Friday March 6

Main Stage – 12pm onwards

Round One
Stefan Bellmont v Charlie Manby
Sam Spivey v Kyle Gilding

Round Two
Sebastian Bialecki v Christian Kist
Jimmy van Schie v Tom Bissell
Darryl Pilgrim v Beau Greaves
Rupprecht/Walker v Cam Crabtree

Round Three
Karel Sedlacek v Raymond van Barneveld
Ricky Evans v Brendan Dolan
Peter Wright v Czerwinski/Labanauskas/Francis

Stage Two – 11am onwards

Round One
Pascal Rupprecht v Jenson Walker
Aden Kirk v Mervyn King
Michael Unterbuchner v Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Adam Leek v David Sharp

Round Two
Thomas Lovely v Shane McGuirk
Adam Gawlas v Tavis Dudeney
Tytus Kanik v Jim Long
Spivey/Gilding v Max Hopp

Round Three
Kevin Doets v Ricardo Pietreczko
Gabriel Clemens v Bialecki/Kist
Kim Huybrechts v Keane Barry
Rupprecht/Walker/Crabtree v Joe Cullen

Stage Three – 11am onwards

First Round
Filip Bereza v Rhys Griffin
Stephen Burton v Jake Eichen
Cristo Reyes v Graham Usher
Tyler Thorpe v Pero Ljubic
Kai Gotthardt v Daniel Lee

Round Two
Robert Owen v Stefaan Henderyck
Maximilian Czerwinski v Labanauskas/Francis
Greg Ritchie v Leek/Sharp
Van der Velde/Tweddell v Leon Weber

Round Three
Lukas Wenig v Mensur Suljovic
Niels Zonneveld v Van Schie/Bissell
Sparidaans/Waites/Potter/Landman v Connor Scutt
Spivey/Gilding/Hopp v Merkx/Barkhausen/Van Velzen

Stage Four – 11am onwards

Round One
Jack Todd v Carl Sneyd
Clive Langford v Stephen Rosney
Alexander Merkx v Jannis Barkhausen
Sean Ryan v Tom Sykes
Sietse Lap v Ted Evetts

Round Two
Wesley Plaisier v Bates/Hofkens
Bereza/Griffin v Oskar Lukasiak
Wild/Coates v Adam Paxton
Bellmont/Manby v Thorpe/Ljubic

Round Three
Meulenkamp/Price/Warner v Jeffrey de Graaf
Kanik/Long v Callan Rydz
Owen/Henderyck v Pilgrim/Greaves
Niko Springer v Kraft/Gotthardt/Lee

Stage Five – 11am onwards

Round One
Samuel Whittaker v Jeffrey de Zwaan
Ryan Branley v Oliver King
Benjamin Pratnemer v Callum Goffin
Darius Labanauskas v Callum Francis

Round Two
Viktor Tingstrom 0-/wo Pearse/Culleton
Meulenkamp/Price v Adam Warner
Dominik Gruellich v Van den Herik/Hall
Lap/Evetts v Reyes/Usher

Round Three
Ryan Meikle v William O’Connor
Nick Kenny v Lipscombe/Todd/Sneyd
Boulton/Kirk/M King v P Williams/Stevenson/Dekker
Kuivenhoven/Unterbuchner/Rodriguez v Wild/Coates/Paxton
Mario Vandenbogaerde v Van der Velde/Tweddell/Weber

Stage Six – 11am onwards

Round One
Owen Bates v Yorick Hofkens
Lewis Pearse v Niall Culleton
Jamai van den Herik v Graham Hall
Jurjen van der Velde v Jack Tweddell

Round Two
P Williams/Stevenson v Cor Dekker
Dennie Olde Kalter v Scott Campbell
Merkx/Barkhausen v Marvin van Velzen
Sparidaans/Waites v Potter/Landman

Round Three
Alan Soutar v Richard Veenstra
Ritchie/Leek/Sharp v Mickey Mansell
Thibault Tricole v Langford/Rosney/Burton/Eichen
Beeton/Merk/Ryan/Sykes v Lap/Evetts/Reyes/Usher

Stage Seven – 11am onwards

Round One
James Beeton v Arno Merk
Danny van Trijp 0-/wo Scott Campbell
Ron Meulenkamp v Samuel Price
Jeffrey Sparidaans v Scott Waites

Round Two
Andy Boulton v Kirk/M King
Maik Kuivenhoven v Unterbuchner/Rodriguez
Pratnemer/Goffin v Whittaker/De Zwaan
Marvin Kraft v Gotthardt/Lee

Round Three
Madars Razma v Gawlas/Dudeney
Gruellich/Van den Herik/Hall v Justin Hood
Branley/O King/Brooks v Bereza/Griffin/Lukasiak
James Hurrell v Bellmont/Manby/Thorpe/Ljubic

Stage Eight – 11am onwards

First Round
Patrik Williams v Simon Stevenson
Matthias Ehlers 0-/wo Marvin Kraft
Nathan Potter v Chris Landman
Neil Wild v Henry Coates

Second Round
Adam Lipscombe v Todd/Sneyd
Branley/O King v Bradley Brooks
Beeton/Merk v Ryan/Sykes
Langford/Rosney v Burton/Eichen

Third Round
Lovely/McGuirk v Martin Lukeman
Ian White v Olde Kalter/Campbell
Pearse/Culleton v Plaisier/Bates/Hofkens
Pratnemer/Goffin/Whittaker/De Zwaan v Scott Williams

Evening Session (7pm-11pm)

Fourth Round matches