2022 UK Open Darts Betting Tips And Predictions

2022 UK Open Darts Betting Tips And Predictions

UK Open Darts Betting Tips

Less than 24 hours after the PDC pitched up in Exeter for last night’s Darts Premier League, the corporation makes its return to Minehead for the 2022 UK Open.

Known as the FA Cup of Darts, there is a draw after every round so anybody can play anyone else at any time.

The open draw format and three days of two sessions with multiple matches going off on different stages make this one of the most unique and difficult events in professional darts and can provide an opportunity to find a big-priced winner.

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Last year’s tournament was held behind closed doors at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, but it will be a different story this year as the event, which was won in 2021 by James Wade, returns to its spiritual home at the Butlins Resort and will be welcomed by a full crowd.

Titanic Battle For Number One Spot

After battling it out last night in Exeter in the first round, it was Peter Wright that came out on top in his first-round match against Gerwyn Price.

This followed a win for the Iceman over Wright in the International Darts Open last weekend that just about kept his lead at the top of the PDC Order of Merit, with an extra £6,500 more in winnings than the Scot.

However, a victory for Snakebite at Minehead would see Wright top of the rankings for the first time in his career.

Price, who tends to get a warmer welcome here than in other venues, is still to win the UK Open but has twice made the final of this competition.

The Iceman knows that his number one spot is under considerable threat and will be gone by Sunday if he fails to reach the final, regardless of what Snakebite does this weekend.

That outcome would require Snakebite to show the kind of quality he did last night in his first two games and indeed in 2017 when he won this very tournament.

The UK Open gave Wright his maiden PDC major title. Since then, he has picked up a further six major titles, most recently the World Championship

Despite a whitewash defeat to Michael van Gerwen in last night’s Darts Premier League Night Four final, Snakebite is on red form right now, while Price, who himself was sensational in the Darts Premier League a fortnight ago, was very underwhelming last night, conceding five legs in a row to his great rival.

If it is to come down to those two once again, then it’s the Scotsman that is favoured. For this week at least.

bet365 have priced up The Iceman at 7/2, while they are also offering 13/2 on Snakebite.

Elsewhere In The Field

The top 32 players in the PDC Order of Merit all join in the competition in the fourth round, along with the 32 who have come through the previous three rounds.

This includes Jonny Clayton who last night looked like his mind was elsewhere – possibly Minehead – as he was shot down 1-6 by Night Four’s winner Michael van Gerwen.

The Ferret had shown some good form in the Premier League Darts up until this week, but on last night’s form, punters might want to look elsewhere.

If, though, you still fancy Jonny Clayton then bet365 have him at 7/1 to win yet another PDC title.

In three games on Thursday night in Exeter, a near back to his best Michael van Gerwen faced Jonny Clayton, Michael Smith and Peter Wright and only dropped three legs all evening.

Big Priced Machine

Of course, the returning champion James Wade is not to be dismissed. 

The Machine has won this event three times but has never experienced Minehead in its full glory, having won the UK Open during the Bolton era in 2008 and 2011, and then again last year with no fans present.

Wade put a couple more points on his Darts Premier League scoreboard last night, reaching the semis, where he lost to Peter Wright. bet365 rate him as a 50/1 shot, which is surely worth an each-way punt.

After all, the world number four was a 40/1 shot last year and won it, before going on to have another decent 12 months, so it is interesting that there is an extra ten points on him this time around.

For more of an outside bet, look beyond the Premier League of Darts participants for a moment and consider the claims of Rob Cross.

After winning last season’s European Championship, Voltage can feel unlikely to have missed out on a place in Darts Premier League.

But the flip side of that is that he should be fresh from not having to travel to Premier League events every Thursday.

This could make him a threat and a deep run in the tourney is definitely not out of the question.

Darts bettors can get 28/1 on the former electrician to win at bet365.

Another stand-out name from the rest of the field is Ryan Searle who actually lives nearby.

Heavy Metal has been threatening to make a breakthrough in a TV major for a while now.

He made the Players Championship final on TV last year where he lost to Peter Wright, who branded him the future of darts immediately after the final.

Luke Humphries, who beat Searle in the opening Players Championship final of this season, reached the final here in 2021 and used this tournament as a springboard to bigger things 12 months ago. Searle is capable of doing something similar this weekend.

Punters looking to back Heavy Metal can enjoy 33/1 with bet365 who are also offering 40/1 on Luke Humphries among their darts betting odds.

2022 UK Open Darts Schedule

Friday March 4

  • Fourth Round (Best of 19 legs)

Saturday March 5

  • Fifth Round (Best of 19 legs)
  • Sixth Round (Best of 19 legs)

Sunday March 6

  • Quarter-Finals (Best of 19 legs)
  • Semi-Finals (Best of 21 legs)
  • Final (Best of 21 legs)

QUICK GLANCE AT THE UK OPEN DARTS

Venue: Butlins Resort, Minehead

Dates:  04 Mar – 06 Mar 

Format: Best of 19, 21 legs

Current Champion: James Wade

Where To Watch: Sky Sports Main Event HD & Sky Sports Arena HD

When To Watch: 12:00 & 19:00 UK

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UK Open 2021 Darts Betting Tips

UK Open 2021 Darts Betting Tips

The first televised PDC event since January’s Darts Masters gets underway this Friday as the players make their return to the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes for this year’s renewal of the UK Open.

Considered by many in the game to be the FA Cup of Darts, the UK Open runs from March 5 through 7 at the temporary venue, which will also host the first round of this year’s Darts Premier League, instead of its usual home at the Butlin’s Minehead Resort.

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The tourney carries its nickname due to the fact the players go unseeded and the format is a random draw, just like the football tournament.

We don’t currently have a great deal of recent results to draw betting inspiration from. Our past two tournaments have been one by Welsh World Cup winning duo Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton, who picked up the Masters a month ago and with it the final Premier League spot.

Reigning champion and now world number two Michael van Gerwen will be back to retain the crown he banked when he beat World Champion Price in the final a year ago.

It is likely that for rest of this year, and possibly well beyond, those two will be jostling for bragging rights. They will also be favoured pair for every tournament, but because of the open format, they could meet at any point this weekend rather than being seeded all the way to another final.

Fittingly as snooker welcomes back former great Stephen Hendry from retirement, the PDC will welcome back our own hero when Raymond van Barneveld makes his return at the Marshall. Barney gets a bye for round one and has been drawn against Alan Soutar in round two.

Players ranked in the world’s top 32 will join the competition in the fourth round and the draw will be made at the end of the previous round.

Despite losing his place at the top of the darting tree, Michael van Gerwen has been installed as the 4/1 favourite for the Open. Even though he hasn’t picked up silverware in a while, that still represents as good a value as we have seen on the Dutchman in quite some time and is definitely worth considering.

Similarly, world number one Gerwyn Price is a 5/1 shot, which given his form over the past season must surely be too good to turn down. Of course, decent prices on those two mean that there are superb odds to be sniffed out further down the line.

It’s hard to ignore the 33/1 offered at bet365 for 2019 champion Nathan Aspinall for example. Or the same price offered on James Wade, another former UK Open winner, is another one that catches the eye.

Elsewhere, Peter Wright can be backed at 9/1 and Dimitri van den Bergh is at 20s.

For the romantics out there, the returning Raymond is 60/1 as the 2021 PDC darts season finally begins to creek into motion.

QUICK GLANCE AT THE PDC UK OPEN 2021

Venue: Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes

Dates: February 5 – February 7

Format: Best of 11, 19, 21 legs

Current Champion: Michael van Gerwen

Where To Watch: ITV 4

When To Watch: (1245 and 1900 GMT)

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UK OPEN DARTS BETTING TIPS 2020

UK OPEN DARTS BETTING TIPS 2020

UK Open 2020
This weekend the PDC are treating us to an event dubbed the FA Cup of Darts. That’s right, its time for another major, and the second televised event of the week after the Darts Premier League stopover in Exeter on Thursday, the UK Open.

This event earned its nickname due to its random round by round draws as well as the participation of amateurs among the 160 player field. Like its footballing equivalent, giant-killing has been a feature of the event over the years and hopefully, this year will be no different.

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A preview of the UK Darts Open

No players will be seeded and a random draw is held for each of the following rounds after the conclusion of the third round. As such, this is an event that doesn’t necessarily favour the big names, proof of which can be found in the fact that we have enjoyed 10 different winners in the 17 years that this event has been running, which is quite open by darts standards.

Plus, consider the fact the greatest darter of all time, Phil Taylor only lifted the trophy five times while the pretender to his crown, Michael van Gerwen has only claimed it twice. For the record, Raymond van Barneveld and James Wade have also won it two times, while the other names scratched onto the trophy are that of Roland Scholten, Robert Thornton, Adrian Lewis, Peter Wright, Gary Anderson and Nathan Aspinall, who took the trophy this time last year.

Ignoring the obvious claims of MVG, a case could be made for Nathan Aspinall to reclaim his title, even if he did lose to Peter Wright in the Premier League last night. The Stockport man’s battling spirit is a key element to his game, even if it was Snakebite who came out on top in Exeter. Wright is another who will need no introduction in Minehead this weekend.

One member of the current big three that will contest The Open is world number three Gerwyn Price. Price was playing like the best in the world until last night when his undefeated record, the last in the Darts Premier League, fell after he was soundly and surprising beaten by Glen Durrant. 2020 will surely bring more televised trophies for the Welshman otherwise it will, in all honesty, be deemed a failure given his ability on the arrows, and this could well be the ideal place to get things started for The Iceman.

If not Aspinall or Price then who? Well, all eyes will surely turn to Michael Smith, who desperately needs to break his major tournament duck. If his recent nine-darter is anything to go by then his form couldn’t be in better condition for a deep run at the Open.

Bully Boy is widely regarded as one of the most talented players in the world today and has been the bridesmaid on nine occasions since 2018. This includes second-place finishes at the World Series of Darts Finals, 2019 World Championship, 2019 World Matchplay, the 2020 Darts Masters and this weekend’s Belgian Darts Championship part of the European Tour. Oh, and he beat Mighty Mike 7-4 in the Darts Premier League last night in an effortlessly classy performance.

Glen Durrant is another on the hunt for his first trophy, albeit on the PDC alone. The former BDO world champ only earned his Tour Card two months before his UK Open debut last year but is now a year into life with the PDC and is going well in the Darts Premier League as witnessed by his excellent 7-3 defeat of Gerwyn Price.

Finally, mention must be made of ‘Cool Hand’ Luke Humphries, who last night became the first challenger to win a match in the Darts Premier League when he beat Gary Anderson. Anderson was off throw in his match last night after a wishy-washy season so far. He will need to raise his game significantly if he is to win the Open for a second time having triumphed in 2018. As for Humphries, he will be relishing the opportunity to shine on another major PDC occasion and should not be ruled out.

UK Open Betting Lines

Playerbetwayaybet365
Michael Van Gerwen11/102/1
Peter Wright9/213/2
Gerwyn Price7/17/1
Nathan Aspinall16/116/1
Gary Anderson14/114/1
Michael Smith14/120/1
Glen Durrant25/125/1
Rob Cross20/125/1
Luke Humphries66/180/1

QUICK GLANCE AT UK OPEN DARTS 2020

Venue: Butlin’s Minehead Resort, Minehead

Dates: 06.03.2020

Format: Max of 11, best of 19, 21

Current Champion: Nathan Aspinall

Where To Watch: ITV 4

When To Watch: (1200 GMT)

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