From February 28 to March 2, the UK Open descends on Butlin's Minehead Resort for one of the most unpredictable and exciting tournaments of the year. This unique event brings together 160 players ranging from established PDC Tour Card holders to talents from the Challenge Tour, Development Tour and winners of some amateur qualifying tournaments.
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Because of its format, the tournament is also known as the FA Cup of Darts. Defending champion Dimitri Van den Bergh, world champion Luke Littler, three-time UK Open winner Michael van Gerwen and world number one Luke Humphries start their hunt for the title in the fourth round. Former champions Nathan Aspinall, Peter Wright, Danny Noppert, James Wade, Gary Anderson and Andrew Gilding also step in then.
Former PDC player and analyst Matthew Edgar discussed his players to watch out for in the Darts Show Podcast. According to him, these are the names that could make a big impact at the tournament.
Follow all the results at the 2025 UK Open in our live score!
Follow all the results at the 2025 UK Open in our live score!
"Challenge Tour, Development Tour, Women's Series - she's top of all those three orders of merit with £17,000 worth of income so far. If you add in the WDF stuff, then she's the second most money earned by any darts player in 2025 so far and she's playing so well. We've seen her play on the ProTour now. She had a great game against Josh Rock but she's got her hands full against Stefan Bellmont. He's a quality player and it will be No 2 vs No 2 on the Challenger Tour. Bellmont was a recent semi-finalist on the ProTour," said Edgar.
"Beau is going to be one of those who will be feared and supported well by the crowd. She has the capabilities of actually winning the tournament."
Ryan Searle is known for his unparalleled talent and laid-back attitude, but Edgar says there has been a noticeable change.
"He always plays well at the start of the year. I've never spoken to Ryan in all the years that I've know him and be interested in darts as much as he is now. He's now speaking quite a lot in interviews about how he doesn't really put effort in, and he's right, he doesn't!
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"We've shared hotel rooms together and I'd be up at 9 o'clock, we've got a board up in the room, I'd be practising and he'll be playing Mario Kart. We'd get to 11 o'clock and I'd be saying 'we need to get downstairs because it's starting in an hour' and he'll still be playing Mario Kart. Then he'd roll out of bed, have a wash, get ready, go down and hit 100 averages. It's like bare minimum, but high output. So what's he going to be like when he starts putting effort in?
"He's actually spending time in the practice room, so I'm really interested to see where this goes for Ryan. I'd love to see him pick up a title."
Josh Rock
Josh Rock was one of the biggest rising stars of recent years, but Edgar saw a worrisome technical flaw creep into his game.
"I'm really interested in Josh at the minute. He burst on the scene and then last year I noticed a real technical flaw started to creep in. When he drew the darts back, he froze. He was messing with the dart in hand, the fingers rolling on the dart, and I was starting to think he was developing dartitis.
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"Then I watched him at the start of this year and it's gone, it's fluent, it's free, it looks nice, and I wouldn't be surprised if Josh Rock goes back to what we saw a couple of years ago. I think he's going to have a great season."
Connor Scutt
Scutt may not immediately be at the top of the favorites list, but according to Edgar, that could just change. "When we're talking about quality needed, flexibility, and the ability to play for a long period of time, I have never seen anyone so dedicated to practice and also the quality at which he plays with. I've never seen someone hit so many 180s in my life, and I've been around players like Michael van Gerwen, Phil Taylor, Luke Humphries, Ryan Searle - big 180 hitters. It was unbelievable. I think he could be a real dark horse in this one."
Dom Taylor
Finally, Edgar points to Dom Taylor as a possible sensation. "I was covering the ProTour last week and I didn't cover any of his games until he got to the semi-finals. He was averaging 103 for the day - for the day! I think he can do that on the big stage. I'm interested to see how he gets on because he is going to be feared."
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) February 26, 2025
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Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026