UK Open 2026 Friday afternoon preview: Van Barneveld, Wright and Greaves among leading lights in frenetic opening session

The UK Open 2026 gets underway on Friday at the Butlin’s Minehead Resort, where three days of action will decide one of the most prestigious titles on the PDC calendar. A total of 158 players will take to the oche at the tournament, which runs from March 6 to March 8.

The event is renowned for its unique format. Alongside the 128 PDC Tour Card holders, amateur players and talents from the Challenge Tour and Development Tour also compete. As a result, there are often intriguing matchups between established names and dark horses.

The opening day promises a marathon schedule. The first four rounds will be played across eight stages. The first matches start on Friday at 11:00 AM.

In the first round, the lower-ranked Tour Card holders (positions 97 to 128) enter the fray. They are joined by players who qualified via the Challenge Tour, Development Tour, the Riley’s Amateur Qualifiers, and the PDC in the Community qualifiers. In the second round, players ranked between 65 and 96 in the world join. Those ranked 33 to 64 then enter in the third round. All matches from these three rounds will be completed before the evening session begins.

The Friday evening session sees the first matches featuring the absolute elite. In the fourth round, the top 32 ranked players in the world enter the tournament.

Defending champion Luke Littler is one of the headline acts on his Minehead bow. Michael van Gerwen also makes his first appearance, as do former winners Gary Anderson, James Wade, Danny Noppert, Nathan Aspinall, Dimitri Van den Bergh, and Andrew Gilding.

A number of other well-known names start a round earlier. Two-time winner Raymond van Barneveld and the 2017 champion, Peter Wright, both begin in the third round. The same goes for the likes of Gian van Veen, Gerwyn Price, and Jonny Clayton.

Although the afternoon session starts at 12:00 PM, the program on the main stage begins at 1:00 PM. First up are Stefan Bellmont and Charlie Manby, two players who featured at the last World Championship. Later, Christian Kist, Jimmy van Schie, and Beau Greaves play their second-round matches on the main stage.

The third round follows at the end of the afternoon. Raymond van Barneveld then plays Karel Sedlacek, while Ricky Evans takes on Brendan Dolan. Peter Wright closes the afternoon on the main stage, although the Scot must wait to find out his opponent.

No fewer than twelve matches will be played on Board 2. Kim Huybrechts faces Keane Barry for a place in the last 64. Joe Cullen also features on the second stage as well as Mervyn King, Max Hopp among others.

All other matches are played in Studio 36, a hall within the Butlin's Minehead Resort complex that houses boards 3 through 8. On these outside boards we see the likes of Mensur Suljovic, Callan Rydz, Jeffrey de Zwaan, James Hurrell and Ian White.

After the third round concludes, the draw for the fourth round will take place on the main stage. With its open draw and a field packed with established names and surprise contenders, the UK Open again promises a weekend of unpredictable matches and drama.