The unique tournament will see Tour Card Holders pitted against Amateur Qualifiers and the top performing players from the 2025 Winmau Challenge Tour and Development Tour.
Day One of the multi-board darting festival will see all players in action, with eight stages hosting the first four rounds of action, with round one kicking off from 1100 GMT.
The opening round will feature Tour Card Holders ranked 97-128, along with top-performing players from last year’s Challenge and Development Tour rankings, plus Rileys Amateur Qualifiers and PDC in the Community Qualifiers.
Tour Card Holders ranked 65-96 will enter at the round two stage, whilst round three will see players ranked 33-64 enter the fray, with all matches from rounds one to three concluding before the evening session.
Friday evening’s fourth round will introduce the top 32 players in the world to the tournament, with defending champion Luke Littler set to headline the event.
The World Champion stormed to his maiden UK Open title on his third appearance in the competition last year, and will be aiming to emulate Raymond van Barneveld, Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor by becoming only the fourth player to retain the title in Minehead.
Van Gerwen will enter at the fourth round stage alongside other former champions Gary Anderson, James Wade, Danny Noppert, Nathan Aspinall, Dimitri Van den Bergh and Andrew Gilding, whilst two-time winner Van Barneveld and 2017 champion Peter Wright will enter in round three.
Two-time semi-finalist Jonny Clayton will be vying to win his first Premier ranking title since 2021, as he enters his 12th consecutive UK Open on Friday evening.
The Welsh number one has enjoyed a strong start to 2026, sitting top of the Premier League table after four weeks, and is hoping to carry this form into Minehead.
“It’s a unique tournament, it’s exciting,” said Clayton, who fell short to Littler in the semi-finals last year.
“We’ll finish at Cardiff tomorrow night and then we’ll head on down to Minehead. On the way down, I will switch mindset towards the UK Open.
“It’s like the FA Cup of darts! I can’t wait.”
Clayton’s World Cup partner Gerwyn Price is another player hungry for a Premier ranking title, having last tasted success in 2021 with the Grand Slam of Darts.
A two-time runner-up at the UK Open, Price has started the year in rampant fashion, reaching the semi-finals at the Winmau World Masters and claiming a Players Championship title in Leicester.
“I’m in a good spot at the moment. I’ve been playing well over the last couple of weeks,” insisted Price, who has already moved up two places to world number ten since the start of 2026.
“I’m defending absolutely nothing this year, so whoever is above me, I’m going to catch them.”
Premier League stars Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, Stephen Bunting and Josh Rock will all begin their bids for their maiden UK Open title in round four, as well as last year’s finalist Wade.
Ross Smith will enter at the round four stage on Friday evening for the fourth year straight, after picking up his seventh Players Championship title in in February.
The former European Champion reached the quarter-finals in 2019, but has not progressed beyond round five since, and will be hoping that his stellar start to 2026 can buck that trend.
“The first few weeks of the year, I’ve actually been a bit nervy. You just want to get off to a good start,” admitted Smith.
“I’m really confident going into the tournament, but at the same time every day is different.
“I’m feeling really good, anyone who plays me is going to have to play well to beat me.”
Following the conclusion of round three on Friday afternoon, an open draw will be made live on the Main Stage for round four, with further draws to be made following each subsequent round.
Saturday will see rounds five and six take place across another bumper double-session, whilst the Main Stage will host the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final across Sunday afternoon and evening.
Main Stage matches across all three days will be broadcast live on 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 every match from Stages Three to Eight also available live on PDCTV.
Players will compete for the £120,000 top prize and the coveted title across the weekend in Minehead, with a total prize fund of £750,000 on offer being paid down to the last 128.
2026 Ladbrokes UK Open
Friday March 6
Afternoon Session (1100 GMT)
Main Stage – 1200 GMT Start
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 – 1100 GMT Start
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 – 1100 GMT Start
Round One
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
Rob 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 – 1100 GMT Start
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 Ehlers/Kraft/Gotthardt/Lee
Stage Five – 1100 GMT Start
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 v 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 – 1100 GMT Start
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 Van Trijp/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 – 1100 GMT Start
Round One
James Beeton v Arno Merk
Danny van Trijp v 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
Ehlers/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 – 1100 GMT Start
Round One
Patrik Williams v Simon Stevenson
Matthias Ehlers v Marvin Kraft
Nathan Potter v Chris Landman
Neil Wild v Henry Coates
Round Two
Adam Lipscombe v Todd/Sneyd
Branley/O King v Bradley Brooks
Beeton/Merk v Ryan/Sykes
Langford/Rosney v Burton/Eichen
Round Three
Lovely/McGuirk v Martin Lukeman
Ian White v Olde Kalter/Van Trijp/Campbell
Tingstrom/Pearse/Culleton v Plaisier/Bates/Hofkens
Pratnemer/Goffin/Whittaker/De Zwaan v Scott Williams
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Four – Eight Stages
Saturday March 7
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
Round Five – Four Stages
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Six – Two Stages
Sunday March 8
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
Quarter-Finals – Main Stage
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Semi-Finals & Final – Main Stage
Stage Locations
Main Stage – Skyline Pavilion
Stage Two – Reds
Stages Three-Eight – Studio 36
Prize Fund
Winner – £120,000
Runner-Up – £60,000
Semi-Finalists – £35,000
Quarter-Finalists – £20,000
Round Six Losers – £12,500
Round Five Losers – £7,500
Round Four Losers – £3,000
Round Three Losers – £2,000
Round Two Losers – £1,250
Total – £750,000
Format
Rounds One-Three – Best of 11 legs
Round Four-Quarter-Finals – Best of 19 legs
Semi-Finals & Final – Best of 21 legs
An open draw will be made at the end of each round from the conclusion of Round Three onwards. The first three rounds were pre-drawn at random.
Ladbrokes Outright Odds
5/2 – Luke Littler
7/1 – Luke Humphries
12/1 – Gerwyn Price, Gian van Veen
16/1 – Michael van Gerwen, Josh Rock
20/1 – Gary Anderson, Nathan Aspinall, Stephen Bunting, Wessel Nijman
25/1 – Chris Dobey, Jonny Clayton
40/1 – Ryan Searle, Danny Noppert, Ross Smith
50/1 – Dirk van Duijvenbode, Jermaine Wattimena
66/1 – Rob Cross, Damon Heta, James Wade
80/1 – Krzysztof Ratajski, Luke Woodhouse
100/1 – Callan Rydz, Beau Greaves, Justin Hood, Martin Schindler, Michael Smith, William O’Connor
150/1 – Bar
Photos credit PDC
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