The opening day of the UK Open sees the first four rounds of the tournament played out across two sessions of play as the ‘FA Cup of Darts’ kicks into full swing inside the behind closed doors setup at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.
The first three rounds are in the afternoon session before the big boys enter the fray for round four in the evening. That means we have to wait a while to see the world champion Gerwyn Price and the defending champion Michael van Gerwen. Time restrictions will deny us the chance to preview the fourth round but we can have a look at the first three rounds.
Round 1
The opening round of the tournament sees the players ranked between 97-122 and the qualifiers for the event battling it out for a spot in the later rounds as the afternoon goes on. These matches are the best of 11 legs across the eight boards and the winners will be back on soon after their match to compete in the second round as they chase a spot in Round 4 where the money starts to come along.
Among the stars we can look forward to seeing in this round of the tournament are the German ace Martin Schindler, one of the stars of the World Championship in Danny Baggish, former world finalists Kirk Shepherd and Jim Williams, Richie Burnett, Geert Nentjes, Rowby-John Rodriguez, Geert de Vos and one of the rising stars of the game in Adam Gawlas who will be looking to take advantage in his first season as a professional.
Round 2
The winners of the first round of the event are joined by the PDC tour card holders who are ranked between 65-96 in this second round of the competition. Those in this stage of the event will be able to see meetings with the big boys but need to win a couple of matches over the remainder of the afternoon in order to take their place against them. There are some world stars on show over the course of this second round.
The biggest of those will be Raymond van Barneveld who is back on the tour after securing his return at Q-School earlier in the year. He meets Alan Soutar who is in great form in one of the best matches of the afternoon. Other players entering the fray here are Lisa Ashton, Keane Barry, Scott Mitchell, Jeff Smith, Andy Hamilton, Scott Waites, Steve Brown, Alan Tabern and Andrew Gilding in what should be a great round of the tournament.
Special Offer
Opt in and place 5 accumulators either in a Boylesports shop or online and get an acca free! Click the image below to bet. ALL CUSTOMERS! 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Round 3
The second round winners will all join the players who are ranked between 33-64 in the third round of the competition where the reward for winning the match is a prize money cheque and a shot at the big boys in the fourth round on Friday evening so the stakes are pretty high over the course of the last part of the afternoon. With those who come into the event in this round being just outside the elite, we can expect the standard to rise here.
Among the players we will see for the first time in the tournament in this third round are two winners of Super Series events last week in Damon Heta and Callan Rydz. Max Hopp is another who enters the fray in this round as do the likes of Steve Beaton, Kim Huybrechts, Keegan Brown, Adam Hunt, Ryan Joyce, Steve West, Jason Lowe, Jelle Klaasen, Steve Lennon, John Henderson, Darren Webster and Ryan Searle.
Betting
I’ll go with a couple of bets over the course of the afternoon with the first of them being on Andrew Gilding who had to go to Q-School to regain his tour card but who having done so can click into gear. He takes on a Jon Worsley who had a decent first day of the Super Series but who never won a match after that. To be fair, Gilding didn’t win a match on any of the four days of the Super Series but he had some rough draws in the form of Peter Wright, Adrian Lewis and Gabriel Clemens and even Nick Kenny can plough in big scores. For all he lacked wins, Gilding scored well and averaged over 93 for the week. If he keeps doing what he is then wins will come eventually starting here.
James Wilson was another who caught my eye at the Super Series last week not necessarily for his results but the averages he put in. His scoring was exceptional. His first nine dart average for the week was a huge 108.1 and his overall average 95.76 so if he has a bit of composure on his doubles then I think Keegan Brown could be in a spot of bother in their third round meeting deep into the afternoon. Brown never pulled up any trees in Bolton last week and while that is a slight concern he tends to play better on the bigger stages. The bigger issue he might have then is that this match is surprisingly out on board three so isn’t on a huge stage. That could play into the hands of Wilson which will do me.
Tips
WON – Back A.Gilding to beat J.Worsley for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with Betfair
Back him here:
Back J.Wilson to beat K.Brown for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with William Hill
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2021
