Danny Noppert lands match-winning nine-darter at the UK Open as Peter Wright enjoys resurgent run

Danny Noppert landed a sensational nine-darter to clinch victory over Dimitri van den Bergh on an action-packed Day One of the 2026 UK Open in Minehead.

The most frenetic day of the darting calendar saw 125 matches contested across eight stages on a marathon day at the Butlins Minehead Resort.

The opening four rounds were held across a bumper double session, as the 157-player field was whittled down to 32 by the conclusion of Friday’s play.

It was 2022 champion Noppert who stole the headlines with a moment of magic on Stage Two, wrapping up a dominant 10-4 win over 2024 champion Van den Bergh with a nine-dart finish.

Noppert’s perfect leg marked the 16th in UK Open history and the first in the event since 2022.

Meanwhie, reigning champion Luke Littler began his bid for back-to-back titles with a 10-3 hammering of Damon Heta, avenging his defeat to the Australian number one in the 2024 quarter-finals.

The world number one produced another trademark 170 checkout en route to victory, which was preceded by a magnificent 132 finish – featuring two bullseyes.

Luke Humphries also impressed in his opener against Luke Woodhouse, averaging 105 and registering four ton-plus checkouts to begin his bid for a maiden UK Open crown.

However, the performance of the day was produced by 2018 champion Gary Anderson, who averaged 107.4 and crashed in eight 180s in his 10-6 success against Dirk van Duijvenbode on Stage Two.

Anderson was one of six former champions to progress to Saturday’s action, with Michael van Gerwen, James Wade and Peter Wright joining Littler and Noppert in Saturday’s Last 32.

Van Gerwen averaged 101 in accounting for 2019 champion Nathan Aspinall in a high-quality encounter, while three-time champion Wade edged past Chris Dobey in a last-leg thriller.

A resurgent Wright defeated Darius Labanauskas and Cameron Menzies to mark a welcome return to winning ways in a ranking major, while Welsh duo Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton eased through in resounding fashion.

Less than 24 hours after their Premier League homecoming in Cardiff, Clayton and Price thrashed Alexander Merkx and Greg Ritchie 10-2 and 10-3 respectively.

World Championship runner-up Gian van Veen was the highest-ranked casualty on Friday evening, succumbing 10-7 to a resurgent Rob Cross in a contest which saw both players average above 101.

Wessel Nijman also averaged above 100 in his 10-1 demolition of two-time UK Open champion Raymond van Barneveld – who survived five match darts to snatch victory over Karel Sedlacek earlier in the day.

Stephen Bunting overcame Thibault Tricole in his opening tie, while Josh Rock returned to winning ways with a tense deciding-leg victory over William O’Connor.

Gabriel Clemens prevailed in similar fashion, taking out 145 to stun Richard Veenstra in a last-leg thriller and advance alongside his compatriots Martin Schindler, Dominik Gruellich and Kai Gotthardt.

German number one Schindler prevailed 10-8 against Joe Cullen, while Gruellich and Gotthardt won seven matches between them to mark their best runs in a TV ranking event.

Leon Weber was unable to join his fellow countrymen after losing out to 2022 runner-up Michael Smith, with 2023 UK Open winner Andrew Gilding bowing out at the hands of former European Champion Ross Smith.

TV title winners Daryl Gurney, Mike De Decker and Mensur Suljovic also enjoyed winning starts in Minehead, alongside former UK Open semi-finalists Dave Chisnall and Keane Barry.

There will be a continental flavour to Saturday afternoon’s line-up, with Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski progressing alongside Latvia’s Madars Razma and Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak.

World Championship semi-finalist Ryan Searle opened up with a 10-7 win over Andy Boulton, as Kevin Doets averaged 98 in dumping out Sweden’s Jeffrey de Graaf 10-5.

Ryan Joyce ended Charlie Manby’s promising run in the Fourth Round, while Martin Lukeman and Darryl Pilgrim completed the Last 32 line-up.

Manby had earlier defeated James Hurrell 6-4 in a feisty Third Round tie which saw the referee forced to intervene in a heated altercation between two players on stage.

Beau Greaves bowed out in Round Two with a below-par 6-4 defeat to Pilgrim on the Main Stage, while other notable early casualties included Jimmy van Schie, Callan Rydz, Justin Hood and Niko Springer.

UK Open 2026 Day One Results

Friday March 6

Afternoon Session

Main Stage

Round One
Charlie Manby 6-3 Stefan Bellmont
Sam Spivey 6-2 Kyle Gilding

Round Two
Sebastian Bialecki 6-5 Christian Kist
Jimmy van Schie 2-6 Tom Bissell
Darryl Pilgrim 6-4 Beau Greaves
Pascal Rupprecht 6-5 Cam Crabtree

Round Three
Karel Sedlacek 5-6 Raymond van Barneveld
Ricky Evans 6-2 Brendan Dolan
Peter Wright 6-3 Darius Labanauskas

Stage Two

Round One
Pascal Rupprecht 6-1 Jenson Walker
Aden Kirk 4-6 Mervyn King
Michael Unterbuchner 6-5 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Adam Leek 6-5 David Sharp

Round Two
Thomas Lovely 6-4 Shane McGuirk
Adam Gawlas 6-0 Tavis Dudeney
Jim Long 6-0 Tytus Kanik
Sam Spivey 6-5 Max Hopp

Round Three
Kevin Doets 6-4 Ricardo Pietreczko
Gabriel Clemens 6-4 Sebastian Bialecki
Kim Huybrechts 5-6 Keane Barry
Joe Cullen 6-3 Pascal Rupprecht

Stage Three

First Round
Filip Bereza 2-6 Rhys Griffin
Stephen Burton 6-2 Jake Eichen
Cristo Reyes 6-3 Graham Usher
Tyler Thorpe 6-0 Pero Ljubic
Kai Gotthardt 6-4 Daniel Lee

Round Two
Robert Owen 6-4 Stefaan Henderyck
Maximilian Czerwinski 3-6 Darius Labanauskas
Greg Ritchie 6-3 Adam Leek
Jurjen Van der Velde 5-6 Leon Weber

Round Three
Lukas Wenig 2-6 Mensur Suljovic
Niels Zonneveld 6-3 Tom Bissell
Connor Scutt 6-3 Jeffrey Sparidaans
Alexander Merkx 6-5 Sam Spivey

Stage Four

Round One
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

Round Two
Wesley Plaisier 4-6 Owen Bates
Rhys Griffin 2-6 Oskar Lukasiak
Henry Coates 6-4 Adam Paxton
Charlie Manby 6-2 Tyler Thorpe

Round Three
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-1 Adam Warner
Jim Long 6-5 Callan Rydz
Rob Owen 5-6 Darryl Pilgrim
Niko Springer 4-6 Kai Gotthardt

Stage Five

Round One
Samuel Whittaker 6-4 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Ryan Branley 3-6 Oliver King
Benjamin Pratnemer 6-3 Callum Goffin
Darius Labanauskas 6-4 Callum Francis

Round Two
Viktor Tingstrom 0-/wo Niall Culleton
Adam Warner 6-5 Ron Meulenkamp
Dominik Gruellich 6-1 Jamai van den Herik
Cristo Reyes 6-1 Sietse Lap

Round Three
William O’Connor 6-4 Ryan Meikle
Nick Kenny 5-6 Adam Lipscombe
Andy Boulton 6-4 Patrik Williams
Michael Unterbuchner 4-6 Henry Coates
Mario Vandenbogaerde 5-6 Leon Weber

Stage Six

Round One
Owen Bates 6-3 Yorick Hofkens
Lewis Pearse 3-6 Niall Culleton
Jamai van den Herik 6-3 Graham Hall
Jurjen van der Velde 6-4 Jack Tweddell

Round Two
Patrik Williams 6-5 Cor Dekker
Dennie Olde Kalter 1-6 Scott Campbell
Alexander Merkx 6-2 Marvin van Velzen
Jeffrey Sparidaans 6-3 Chris Landman

Round Three
Alan Soutar 4-6 Richard Veenstra
Greg Ritchie 6-5 Mickey Mansell
Thibault Tricole 6-4 Stephen Rosney
Tom Sykes 6-4 Cristo Reyes

Stage Seven

Round One
James Beeton 5-6 Arno Merk
Danny van Trijp 0-/wo Scott Campbell
Ron Meulenkamp 6-2 Samuel Price
Jeffrey Sparidaans 6-4 Scott Waites

Round Two
Andy Boulton 6-4 Mervyn King
Maik Kuivenhoven 5-6 Michael Unterbuchner
Benjamin Pratnemer 6-1 Samuel Whittaker
Marvin Kraft 2-6 Kai Gotthardt

Round Three
Madars Razma 6-2 Adam Gawlas
Dominik Gruellich 6-4 Justin Hood
Bradley Brooks 3-6 Oskar Lukasiak
James Hurrell 4-6 Charlie Manby

Stage Eight

First Round
Patrik Williams 6-4 Simon Stevenson
Matthias Ehlers 0-/wo Marvin Kraft
Chris Landman 6-2 Nathan Potter
Henry Coates 6-3 Neil Wild

Second Round
Adam Lipscombe 6-0 Jack Todd
Bradley Brooks 6-5 Oliver King
Arno Merk 4-6 Tom Sykes
Stephen Rosney 6-4 Stephen Burton

Third Round
Martin Lukeman 6-4 Thomas Lovely
Ian White 2-6 Scott Campbell
Niall Culleton 6-4 Owen Bates
Benjamin Pratnemer 6-4 Scott Williams

Evening Session

Fourth Round

Main Stage
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

Stage Two
Danny Noppert 10-4 Dimitri Van den Bergh – *Noppert hits a nine-darter*
Joe Cullen 8-10 Martin Schindler
Gary Anderson 10-6 Dirk Van Duijvenbode
James Wade 10-9 Chris Dobey

Stage Three
Mensur Suljovic 10-5 Jermaine Wattimena
Michael Smith 10-8 Leon Weber
Oskar Lukasiak 10-7 Benjamin Pratnemer
Keane Barry 10-2 Henry Coates

Stage Four
Gerwyn Price 10-3 Greg Ritchie
Martin Lukeman 10-6 Ritchie Edhouse
Ross Smith 10-4 Andrew Gilding
Kai Gotthardt 10-8 Tom Sykes

Stage Five
Niall Culleton 8-10 Dominik Gruellich
Krzysztof Ratajski 10-4 Ricky Evans
Madars Razma 10-9 Jim Long
Cameron Menzies 6-10 Peter Wright

Stage Six
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

Stage Seven
Gabriel Clemens 10-9 Richard Veenstra
Wessel Nijman 10-1 Raymond van Barneveld
Connor Scutt 5-10 Darryl Pilgrim
Josh Rock 10-9 William O’Connor

Stage Eight
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