PDC UK Open Field

THE 146-player field for June's Speedy Services UK Open has been confirmed - with former champions Phil Taylor, James Wade and Roland Scholten set to compete on the opening night of the tournament on Thursday June 6 at the De Vere Whites, Bolton.

The £200,000 tournament, dubbed 'The FA Cup of Darts' for its open draw format and the inclusion of amateur qualifiers alongside top professionals, will be held from June 6-9 this year, live on Sky Sports.

While the 114 professional qualifiers competed in a series of eight qualifying tournaments to win their places at the Reebok Stadium, sponsors Speedy Services also staged four open amateur qualifiers for 32 players to compete in the UK Open.

The leading 32 professionals will come into the tournament in the third round on Friday June 7, and will be headed by reigning UK Open champion Robert Thornton and Dutch star Michael van Gerwen - the World Championship runner-up who amazingly won five of the eight UK Open Qualifiers.

Bolton-based Ross Smith, two-time UK Open champion Raymond van Barneveld, former Reebok Stadium finalists Gary Anderson, John Part and Wes Newton and double World Champion Adrian Lewis will also enter in the third round.

Reigning World Champion and four-time UK Open winner Phil Taylor, though, finished just 44th in the UK Open rankings to mean he will come in at the second round stage.

James Wade, the 2008 and 2011 UK Open champion, will be amongst the 82 players drawn to compete in the preliminary and first rounds of the event, which will kick off on June 6.

Wade is joined in the initial draw by 2004 winner Roland Scholten, 2007 finalist Vincent van der Voort, world number nine Justin Pipe, former BDO World Champion Ted Hankey and international qualifiers including Hong Kong's Royden Lam, Spain's Antonio Alcinas, Austria's Mensur Suljovic and the German pair of Tomas Seyler and Bernd Roith.

The Speedy Qualifiers include a clutch of amateur players who have previously competed in the UK Open before, including Manchester's Paul Whitworth, Wallasey's Robbie Green, Ayrshire's Andy Boulton and Edinburgh's Gus Santana.

Stephen Bunting, who almost knocked out Wade in last year's UK Open and is also the current BDO World Masters champion, also won through the Speedy Qualifiers, alongside Maik Langendorf, who represented Austria in the World Cup this year and travelled to London to compete in the Speedy Qualifiers.

The draw for the Speedy Services UK Open's opening night - featuring the preliminary, first and second rounds - will be made on Thursday May 9 ahead of the McCoy's Premier League Darts in Newcastle.

The UK Open's third round draw will be made on Thursday June 6 at the conclusion of the event's opening night, with an open draw then being made following each round in Bolton.

The Speedy Services UK Open will be held from June 6-9 at the Premier Suite, De Vere Whites, Reebok Stadium, Bolton.




Speedy Services UK Open Qualifiers
Top 32 - Enter in Third Round

Michael van Gerwen
Robert Thornton
Kim Huybrechts
Peter Wright
Simon Whitlock
Gary Anderson
Mervyn King
Ronnie Baxter
John Part
Brendan Dolan
Michael Smith
Dave Chisnall
Jamie Caven
Jason Hogg
Adrian Lewis
Ian White
Wes Newton
Terry Jenkins
Stuart Kellett
Kevin Painter
Andy Hamilton
John Bowles
Paul Nicholson
Steve Beaton
Raymond van Barneveld
Ross Smith
Ronny Huybrechts
Kenny MacNeil
Colin Lloyd
Kevin McDine
Scott Rand
Mark Webster

Players 33-64 - Enter in Second Round

Mark Cox
Michael Mansell
Alex Roy
Kevin Thomas
Co Stompe
Andy Jenkins
Mark Walsh
Paul Amos
Colin Fowler
Ricky Evans
Joe Cullen
Phil Taylor
Jyhan Artut
Steve West
Nigel Heydon
Magnus Caris
Andy Smith
John Henderson
Matthew Edgar
Lee Palfreyman
Joey Palfreyman
Terry Temple
Arron Monk
Peter Hudson
Kevin Dowling
Adam Hunt
Ricky Sudale
Richie Burnett
Jelle Klaasen
Dennis Smith
Jim Walker
Richie Howson

Players 65-96 (plus ties) - Enter in Preliminary/First Round

James Wade
Adrian Gray
Leon de Geus
Connie Finnan
Matt Padgett
Dave Weston
Justin Pipe
Nick Fullwell
Tony West
Chris Aubrey
Tomas Seyler
Gino Vos
Steve Brown
Paddy Meaney
Mark Dudbridge
Darren Johnson
Steve Farmer
Scott Coleman
Vincent van der Voort
William O'Connor
Dean Winstanley
Ted Hankey
Dave Place
Jason Wilson
Campbell Jackson
John Scott
Steve Hine
Alan Derrett
Wayne Jones
Bernd Roith
Roland Scholten
Mensur Suljovic
Antonio Alcinas
Royden Lam
Shaun Griffiths
Keegan Brown
James Hubbard
Andy Parsons
Colin Osborne
Kirk Shepherd
Mark Lawrence
David Copley
Gaz Cousins
Keith Rooney
Prakash Jiwa
Matthew Dennant
Gareth Pass
Jamie Lewis
Johnny Haines
Vernon Sheppard

Speedy Amateur Qualifiers - Enter in Preliminary/First Round

Gus Santana
Andy Murray
Gary Stone
Jamie Hagen
Tam Dymond
Scott Robertson
Andrew McNicol
Andy Boulton
Stephen Bunting
Michael Bushby
Mark McGeeney
Daniel Twist
Stuart Lowe
Nigel Daniels
Tony Martin
Paul Whitworth
Darrell Thorpe
Matt Gallett
Gavin Baker
Michael Musto
Robbie Singleton
Robbie Green
Jake Pennington
Dean Stewart
Conan Whitehead
Darrell Townsend
Terry Dunford
John Mortimer
Maik Langendorf
Scott Marsh
Steven Mead
Michael Burgoine