2023 UK Open: Favourites, order of play, schedule and prize money for the ITV-televised event
Michael van Gerwen in action. Photo Credit: Sinon O’Connor/PDC
The 21st edition of the UK Open gets underway this Friday with 158 players descending on Minehead for the £600,000 tournament.
PDC's biggest stars won't be the only ones in action as players from the Development Tour and Challenge Tour join the action at Butlins.
Here, we take a look at everything you need to know ahead of the 2023 Cazoo UK Open.
Who is the defending UK Open champion?
Danny Noppert went all the way in the 2022 edition of the UK Open, becoming the fourth Dutchman to win the event.
The Freeze picked up a dramatic 11-10 victory over Michael Smith in the final despite averaging just 84.82.
Who is the most successful player at the UK Open?
Phil Taylor boasts the most UK Open titles having won the event five times (2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2013).
When it comes to active players, Michael van Gerwen and James Wade share great history in Minehead having claimed this major on three occasions.
Who is the favourite to win the 2023 UK Open?
Michael van Gerwen will enter this weekend's UK Open having won Night Five in the Premier League last Thursday.
The Dutchman is the favourite with the bookmakers and looks determined to win his first UK Open crown since 2020.
Michael Smith is the other top contender. The current world champion came within one leg of the trophy 12 months ago and is expected to challenge for silverware again this year.
How much prize money is on offer at the UK Open?
As darts continues to grow exponentially, the PDC continue to increase the prize pot.
This year's UK Open fund has gone from £450,000 to £600,000, with the tournament set to pay down to the last 128 players for the first time ever.
Winner - £110,000
Runner-up - £50,000
Semi-finalists - £30,000
Quarter-finalists - £15,000
Sixth round - £10,000
Fifth round - £5,000
Fourth round - £2,500
Third round - £1,500
Second round - £1,000
What is the format for the 2023 UK Open?
A total of 158 players will compete for the 2023 UK Open crown.
The opening round will see 62 players take to the oche. That group will consist of Amateur qualifiers, Challenge Tour qualifiers, Development qualifiers and players ranked 97 to 128 on the PDC Order of Merit.
The winners will progress to the second round where they will be joined by 32 players who are ranked between 65 and 96 in the PDC rankings.
In the third round, players ranked 33 to 64 will enter the competition. The top 32, on the other hand, will join the fun in the fourth round.
Order of play for the 2023 UK Open
Friday is set for a busy day of action as the tournament goes from round one to four.
Saturday will see the fifth and sixth rounds, with matches being contested in a best of nineteen legs format.
The business end of the UK Open will take place on Sunday with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. The two final rounds will be played over a best of 21 legs format.
2023 UK Open first round draw
Luke Littler vs Nick Fullwell
Gian van Veen vs Robert Owen
Lukas Wenig vs Jeffrey de Zwaan
Jurjen van der Velde vs Brett Claydon
Arron Monk vs Vladimir Andersen
Conor Heneghan vs Daniel Lee
Jacques Labre vs Daniel Klose
Andy Jenkins vs Adam Warner
Nathan Girvan vs Niels Zonneveld
Callum Goffin vs Robbie Knops
Jarred Cole vs Jitse Van der Wal
Jim Moston vs Kenny Neyens
Gary Davey vs Lee Evans
Dom Taylor vs Darren Webster
Stuart White vs Owen Roelofs
Jelle Klaasen vs Josh Payne
James Richardson vs Thibault Tricole
Sebastian Bialecki vs Joshua Richardson
Geert Nentjes vs Christian Kist
Dan Read vs Callum Loose
Graham Hall vs Jeffrey Sparidaans
Karel Sedlacek vs Harry Lane
Noel Grant vs Graham Usher
Michael Flynn vs Jonathan Wynn
Pascal Rupprecht vs Nick Kenny
Jim McEwan vs Danny Lauby
Dylan Slevin vs Maik Kuivenhoven
Danny van Trijp vs Christopher Holt
Lewis Gurney vs Darryl Pilgrim
Stephen Burton vs Adam Smith-Neale
Where to watch the 2023 UK Open?
The PDC have confirmed that the for the first time in UK Open history, every match of the 2023 event will be broadcast live.
UK viewers will be able to follow the main action on ITV, while matches from the remaining stages will be available on PDC TV.
International viewers can watch main stage action on DAZN or Viaplay, while also following the rest of the games on PDC TV.
Photo Credit:
Sinon O'Connor/PDC
