UK Open 2026 Roundup | Littler cruises as Humphries departs, whilst Wade stuns Van Gerwen and Price completes birthday miracle as quarter-final lineup set
PDCSaturday, 07 March 2026 at 23:37
The field for finals day at the 2026 UK Open is now complete after a dramatic Saturday evening session in Minehead produced shocks, dominant displays and a remarkable comeback.
Luke Littler continued his charge towards the title with a convincing victory over Gary Anderson, while James Wade delivered one of the performances of the round to dismantle Michael van Gerwen.
Elsewhere, Gerwyn Price produced a stunning comeback from 9-4 down to defeat Keane Barry on his birthday, while former champion Danny Noppert knocked out Luke Humphries to reach the quarter-finals.
James Wade dismantles Van Gerwen in statement performance
One of the performances of the night came from James Wade, who swept aside Michael van Gerwen 10-3 in a dominant display on the main stage.
The only player to win the UK Open across three different decades showed exactly why he remains such a dangerous presence in Minehead. Averaging 105.83 and finishing at nearly 60% on the doubles, Wade punished Van Gerwen repeatedly whenever chances appeared.
After a competitive opening phase, Wade quickly seized control of the contest and never looked back.
By the time he surged into a 9-3 lead, the outcome already looked inevitable, and the Englishman sealed the victory shortly afterwards to book his place in finals day.
Luke Littler ends Gary Anderson challenge
In the headline clash of the round, Luke Littler proved too strong for Gary Anderson, sealing a 10-5 victory to continue his impressive run in Minehead. Anderson began brightly and broke throw in the opening leg to the delight of the crowd, but that early momentum quickly disappeared as Littler shifted through the gears.
The teenage world champion produced a scoring burst that swung the match firmly in his favour, winning multiple legs in succession as his average climbed past the 100 mark.
Anderson briefly halted the run but never truly threatened a comeback, and Littler eventually wrapped up the win with a composed 78 checkout.
Littler is into the quarter-finals
Gerwyn Price completes stunning birthday comeback
Few matches delivered as much drama as the clash between Gerwyn Price and Keane Barry, with the Welshman producing a remarkable comeback to snatch a 10-9 victory.
Barry appeared on course for one of the shocks of the night when he surged into a commanding 9-4 lead, leaving Price staring at elimination.
However, on his birthday, the former world champion refused to surrender. Price gradually clawed his way back into the match, forcing a deciding leg with a brilliant 79 checkout.
With the darts in the decider, the Welshman seized his chance, opening the leg with a 180 before calmly returning to finish 40 and complete the turnaround.
Josh Rock overcomes Bunting in Premier League clash
The evening session began with a high-quality contest between Josh Rock and Stephen Bunting, with Rock eventually securing a 10-7 victory.
The match remained evenly balanced through the early stages before Rock began to assert control around the midway point. A run of consecutive legs shifted the momentum decisively in the Northern Irishman’s favour, highlighted by a classy 107 checkout.
Although Bunting threatened to close the gap again, missed opportunities allowed Rock to maintain his advantage and see out the win.
Rob Cross proves too strong for Daryl Gurney
Former world champion Rob Cross also progressed to finals day after defeating Daryl Gurney 10-6. The contest remained competitive early on, but Cross gradually gained the upper hand through the middle stages of the match.
Despite moments where Gurney threatened to close the gap, Cross consistently produced the heavier scoring when it mattered most before sealing victory.
| Daryl Gurney | VS | Rob Cross |
|---|---|---|
| 85.43 | Average (3 Darts) | 95.48 |
| 20 | 100+ Thrown | 19 |
| 10 | 140+ Thrown | 10 |
| 2 | 180 Thrown | 4 |
| 101 | Highest Checkout | 152 |
| Checkout 100+ | ||
| 33.33 | Checkout percentage | 41.67 |
| 6 / null | Checkout | 10 / null |
Jonny Clayton continues strong run
Jonny Clayton maintained his excellent recent form by defeating Martin Lukeman 10-7.
Clayton made a fast start to establish control of the match, leaving Lukeman chasing from the early stages. Although Lukeman improved as the contest progressed, Clayton’s steady scoring and timely finishing ensured the Welshman remained firmly in command.
Danny Noppert knocks out Humphries
The biggest upset of the closing matches came as Danny Noppert defeated Luke Humphries 10-6 to reach the quarter-finals.
Humphries actually had darts to win several early legs but repeatedly missed key opportunities on the doubles. Noppert took full advantage, punishing those misses with clinical finishing to build a commanding lead.
Although Humphries briefly threatened a comeback when Noppert missed four match darts, the Dutchman quickly recovered to close out the victory and secure his place in the last eight.
Ratajski capitalises on Searle misses
The final quarter-final place went to Krzysztof Ratajski, who defeated Ryan Searle in a match dominated by missed doubles.
Ratajski produced the heavier scoring throughout the contest, averaging 96.25, while Searle struggled to convert chances on the outer ring. With Searle finishing at just 21% on doubles, the Polish star gradually took control and moved clear after the final interval before sealing the win.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Would love if podcast was available on youtube. Dont have spotify.kangacheckoutz03-03-2026
- ah ok, that helps put it in context, cheersMrMarkWatsonnonotthatone28-02-2026
- Any IDeaS.....richieburnettrocks28-02-2026
- I deserve it I am the greatest I am the people's champion I believe I will win the Premier League because I believe I am the best because honestly I am the people's champion and I honestly made the fans come tonight because I am honestly the greatest and I, I, I, I, I, I, I, Oh shut up you pathetic pandering hideously ugly fat waste of space! Fatty Bunting should be more sincere and humbly accept he needed that instead of I this and I that.richieburnettrocks28-02-2026
- Wright's wife DEMANDS he continues so IT can rook every last penny from him. Commentary beckons.richieburnettrocks28-02-2026
- i can't answer this definitively, but i can make some suggestions. firstly, these are essentially just glorified qualifiers for TV events which double as helping the lesser players on tour make a living, but they aren't really considered that significant. they weren't even streamed until the past decade or so. most casual fans don't even know they exist and getting an audience in might be difficult. i'm assuming they're currently quite cheap to run and they would need to sell a lot of tickets to justify opening them up into more of a spectacle. they're held on weekdays when most people are at work anyway and there's no room on the calendar to put most of them on weekends. the logistics of presenting it to an audience would also be tricky given that they have to get through 7 rounds containing 128 players in a single day, using loads of stages simultaneously. maybe the uk open could be used as a template but it'd need to be even more condensed into a short time period, and even with the uk open it's hard to follow most of the games. the venues they're currently held at wouldn't cater for turning this into a public event as they're pretty small, so they'd need to hire much bigger venues 30 times in places around the country. it just probably isn't feasible. i also suspect the players don't really want to play in front of drunk audiences in every single domestic tournament, they already have the euro tour, world series and majors for that. the players championship is basically a way for players to demonstrate they're ready to make the step up to those levels of competition.colt26-02-2026
- Hi, can someone explain why the Players Championship takes place behind closed doors? I've been watching the big championships on and off for decades, but only just started taking a keener interest in the game, and this strange looking competition is a bit of a head scratcher to me at the moment.MrMarkWatsonnonotthatone25-02-2026
- Not Noppy. Get Beau in.medinabello25-02-2026
- If I was noppert,I'd say,sod you lot. You don't think I'm good enough,but suddenly,I can be a replacement? What a load of rubbish. Either you're in,or not. I keep saying,it's a pointless league,just to get people on seats,and beer down their necks. Scrap the whole thingrick6724-02-2026
- Exactly! Did the Glasgow punters get a partial refund for missing out on a potentially explosive match up? I don't know but I doubt it. Given the existing set up, how about this? Four reserves, one European based player to cover the four overseas rounds (including Dublin) and three UK based players to cover four UK rounds each (including Belfast). If the number of continental rounds changed to four for instance then Dublin could be transferred to the UK players allocation for convenience. All reserves should have their travel and accommodation costs covered and to make it worth their while, if they are not used, the reserve could play a match with a LOCAL non tour card holding player between the semi finals and final. This local player would be chosen by a prior qualifying tournament. The prize for this game could be £/euros 1000 or 2000 as the reserve could be spending his time and effort doing an exhibition instead not that I know what the commercial rate for an exhibition is! If the reserve is used in the main competition then the winner and the runner up of the qualifier can play. This could generate additional local interest and publicity. Obviously this doesn't cover every "what if" scenario i.e. What if two main players pull out? Maybe a second of the four reserves could be chosen at random? What do you think?OldShakey23-02-2026
Loading