UK Open Darts 2026 Preview: Here’s What You Need to Know About the “FA Cup of Darts”

The UK Open Darts 2026 is just around the corner, bringing one of the most beloved tournaments on the PDC calendar into view. The event traditionally guarantees upsets and spectacle and is annually one of the early highlights of the darts season.

The UK Open is nicknamed the “FA Cup of Darts” for good reason. Thanks to the open draw, not only the established PDC names get their chance to take to the stage, but also players without a Tour Card. That regularly produces unexpected scorelines and eye-catching breakthroughs.

From Friday, 03/06/2026 through Sunday, 03/08/2026, a total of 160 players will be in action at Butlin’s Minehead Resort. They will battle for the prestigious title and a share of the £750,000 total prize fund. The eventual winner will receive a £120,000 check.

But how exactly does the format work? Who are the leading contenders this year? And how did last year’s edition unfold? In this preview we line up all the key details.

Between 2003 and 2013, the UK Open was staged annually in June at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton. From 2014 the tournament moved to Butlin’s in Minehead and found a new slot on the calendar in early March. The inaugural edition was won by Phil Taylor, who beat Shayne Burgess in the final.

Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld claimed the title in 2006, at his first appearance in a PDC ranking event. On his way to the final he knocked out 13-time world champion Phil Taylor 11-10. In the decider, Van Barneveld then proved too strong for Barrie Bates with a 13-7 victory. A year later he successfully defended his title, again after beating Taylor earlier in the tournament.

Because amateurs and semi-professional darters can also qualify through preliminary events, the UK Open has produced plenty of surprises over the years. In 2014, Aden Kirk delivered one of the biggest shocks when, in his first televised match, he defeated defending champion Phil Taylor 9-7 in the third round. Kirk then also saw off Peter Wright (9-5) to advance to the next phase.

Two years later, in 2016, Riley’s amateur qualifier Barry Lynn pulled off another upset by beating reigning world champion Gary Anderson 9-3. Lynn eventually reached the quarterfinals. In 2017, Anderson suffered another early exit, this time to a different Riley’s qualifier, Paul Hogan. Hogan continued his strong run by eliminating Adrian Lewis in the following round as well.

Phil Taylor produced four nine-darters at the UK Open, in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008. Mervyn King (2010), Gary Anderson (2012), Wes Newton (2013), Michael van Gerwen (2016 and 2020), Jonny Clayton (2020), Sebastian Białecki (2021), Jitse van der Wal (2021), José Justicia (2022), James Wade (2022) and Michael Smith (2022) also recorded a perfect leg. The nine-darters by Newton, Białecki, Van der Wal and Justicia were not shown live on television, while the legs by Clayton and Smith were only broadcast live via the PDC website. Notably, the tournament saw a different runner-up in each of the first thirteen editions.

In 2018, an exceptional measure had to be taken. Due to extreme weather conditions and concerns over visitor safety, the Butlin’s organisers decided to stage the entire tournament without spectators. Fans could only follow the event via live broadcasts on ITV4 and the PDC stream. Gary Anderson won in an empty arena against Corey Cadby in the final.

The UK Open also took place without spectators in 2021. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the tournament was moved that year to the Marshall Arena, where all matches were played behind closed doors. Since 2022, the event has been held in Minehead again as normal.

The record champion at the UK Open is, of course, darts legend Phil Taylor. The Power reached six finals in fourteen appearances and took the big trophy home five times.

Michael van Gerwen and James Wade have both won the “FA Cup of Darts” three times, while Raymond van Barneveld, with two titles, is the fourth player to win the event more than once.

Quite a few players have lifted the UK Open title once. They are: Peter Wright, Gary Anderson, Roland Scholten, Robert Thornton, Adrian Lewis, Nathan Aspinall, Danny Noppert, Andrew Gilding, Dimitri Van den Bergh and Luke Littler.

The field features all 128 PDC Tour Card holders, supplemented by 32 qualifiers. These spots are allocated to players from amateur qualifying events and the Challenge Tour and Development Tour rankings.

The opening three rounds are reserved for lower-ranked players and qualifiers. In this phase, matches are played over a maximum of eleven legs.

From the fourth round, with 64 players remaining, the 32 highest-ranked players from the world rankings enter the tournament. From that point, matches are played over a maximum of nineteen legs.

The last 32, the last 16, and the quarterfinals are also contested over nineteen legs. In the closing stages, the distance increases slightly: both the semifinals and the final are played over a maximum of 21 legs.

With a field of no fewer than 160 players, there is no shortage of names to follow. Some players must start from the first round, while the world’s top 32 only come in from the fourth round.

The opening round includes Cristo Reyes. The Spaniard is back on tour after a four-year absence and has already produced some strong results in his first month. World Championship sensation Charlie Manby, the reigning WDF World Champion Jimmy van Schie, also begin in the first round. The same applies to two-time Lakeside champion Scott Waites, who pulled off a huge surprise in 2010 by winning the Grand Slam of Darts.

All eyes in the second round will be on Beau Greaves. The world’s best female player impressively reached the fourth round in Minehead last year and then pushed former world number one Luke Humphries hard. This season, Greaves holds a PDC Tour Card for the first time, so facing men is becoming routine for her. On the floor, Greaves has performed respectably so far, and she has already made headlines with a superb nine-darter.

From the third round, more familiar names enter the fray. The headline acts here are Peter Wright and Raymond van Barneveld. Two darts legends not in the best phase of their careers, both currently sliding down the world rankings. Crowd favourite Justin Hood also has byes through the first two rounds, as do Ricky Evans, Scott Williams, Niko Springer, and Mensur Suljovic.

The last 64 is traditionally where the UK Open begins for the absolute elite. The clear favourite is, of course, Luke Littler, who claimed last year’s title in Minehead by beating James Wade 11-2 in the final. Although Littler hasn’t quite hit top gear in the Premier League yet, he is still winning the bulk of the major events.

Behind Littler sits a cluster of evenly matched contenders. Gian van Veen stands out, as does world number two Luke Humphries. Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price are certainly in the mix as well. It would also be the first time a Welshman wins the UK Open, as that has never happened before.

A top-form Michael van Gerwen is always in the title hunt, but Mighty Mike has been inconsistent at the FA Cup of Darts for years. And don’t rule out outsiders such as Nathan Aspinall, James Wade, and perhaps even Wessel Nijman.