2021 UK Open
| 2021 Ladbrokes UK Open | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament information | |||
| Dates | 5–7 March 2021 | ||
| Venue | Marshall Arena | ||
| Location | Milton Keynes, England | ||
| Organization(s) | Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) | ||
| Format | Legs Final – best of 21 | ||
| Prize fund | £450,000 | ||
| Winner's share | £100,000 | ||
| Nine-dart finish | Sebastian Białecki Jitse van der Wal | ||
| High checkout | 170 Chris Dobey Glen Durrant Geert Nentjes Devon Petersen Michael Smith | ||
| Champion(s) | |||
| James Wade | |||
| |||
The 2021 Ladbrokes UK Open was a darts tournament staged by the Professional Darts Corporation. It was the nineteenth year of the tournament where players compete in a single elimination tournament to be crowned champion. The tournament was held for the first time at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England, between 5–7 March 2021, and was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]
Michael van Gerwen was the defending champion after defeating Gerwyn Price 11–9 in the 2020 final.[2] However, he lost 11–5 to Luke Humphries in the semi-finals.
Lisa Ashton became the first woman to win a match at the UK Open since 2005, defeating Aaron Beeney 6–2 in Round 2, and also set a new world record for the highest televised average by a female player, with an average of 100.34.[3] Sebastian Białecki, the first player born after the inaugural event in 2003 to play in the UK Open,[4] hit a nine-dart finish in his opening round victory over Jim McEwan. Jitse van der Wal then hit a nine-dart finish against Białecki in the second round.[3]
James Wade won his third UK Open title, and his first since 2011, with an 11–5 victory over Luke Humphries in the final.
Prize money
The prize fund remained at £450,000. With the withdrawal of seven tour card players the field is reduced to 153 players.
| Stage (no. of players) | Prize money (Total: £450,000) | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | (1) | £100,000 |
| Runner-up | (1) | £40,000 |
| Semi-finalists | (2) | £20,000 |
| Quarter-finalists | (4) | £12,500 |
| Last 16 (sixth round) | (8) | £7,500 |
| Last 32 (fifth round) | (16) | £4,000 |
| Last 64 (fourth round) | (32) | £2,000 |
| Last 95 (third round) | (31) | £1,000 |
| Last 127 (second round) | (32) | £0 |
| Last 153 (first round) | (25) | £0 |
Format
There is a slight change in format for this year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no Rileys amateur qualifiers could be held. In 2021, the top eight of both the UK and European Qualifying School Order of Merits who have not yet qualified for the tournament filled those 16 spots.[5]
The 153 participants will enter the competition incrementally, with 50 players entering in the first round, with match winners joining the 32 players entering in the second and third rounds to leave the last 64 in the fourth round.
- No players are seeded.
- A random draw is held for each of the following rounds following the conclusion of the third round.
- All matches in the first, second and third rounds will be played over best of 11 legs.
- All matches in the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds and quarter-finals will be played over best of 19 legs.
- All matches in the semi-finals and final will be played over best of 21 legs.
- Eight boards will be used for matches in the first, second, third and fourth rounds.
- Four boards will be used for matches in the fifth round.
- Two boards will be used for matches in the sixth round.
- One board will be used for all the matches in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.
Qualifiers
Boris Krčmar, Daniel Larsson, Darren Penhall, Wesley Harms, Michael Unterbuchner and Robert Marijanović withdrew before the draw was made.
Cristo Reyes and Florian Hempel withdrew after the draw took place, so their opponents Jitse van der Wal (in round 1) and Ryan Joyce (in round 3) both got byes to their next respective rounds.[6] Justin Pipe tested positive for COVID-19, meaning Luke Humphries received a bye to round 4.[7]
Number 1–32 of the PDC Order of Merit (receiving byes into fourth round)
- Gerwyn Price
- Michael van Gerwen
- Peter Wright
- Rob Cross
- James Wade
- Gary Anderson
- Dave Chisnall
- Michael Smith
- Dimitri Van den Bergh
- Nathan Aspinall
- Daryl Gurney
- Ian White
- Glen Durrant
- Krzysztof Ratajski
- José de Sousa
- Joe Cullen
- Stephen Bunting
- Jonny Clayton
- Simon Whitlock
- Mensur Suljović
- Mervyn King
- Danny Noppert
- Jeffrey de Zwaan
- Adrian Lewis
- Chris Dobey
- Vincent van der Voort
- Jermaine Wattimena
- Jamie Hughes
- Gabriel Clemens
- Dirk van Duijvenbode
- Ricky Evans
- Devon Petersen
Number 33–64 of the PDC Order of Merit (receiving byes into third round)
- Steve Beaton
- Brendan Dolan
- William O'Connor
- Keegan Brown
- Ryan Searle
- Kim Huybrechts
- Max Hopp
- Darius Labanauskas
- Luke Humphries
- John Henderson
- Ross Smith
- Ryan Joyce
- Darren Webster
- Steve West
Justin Pipe(withdrew)- Damon Heta
- Luke Woodhouse
- Ron Meulenkamp
- Steve Lennon
- Andy Boulton
- Madars Razma
- Jelle Klaasen
- Mickey Mansell
- Adam Hunt
- Callan Rydz
- Matthew Edgar
- Ted Evetts
- Josh Payne
- Jason Lowe
- James Wilson
- Mark McGeeney
Cristo Reyes(withdrew)
Number 65–96 of the PDC Order of Merit (receiving byes into second round)
- Maik Kuivenhoven
- Jeff Smith
- Scott Waites
- Ryan Murray
- Martijn Kleermaker
- Wayne Jones
- Karel Sedláček
- Derk Telnekes
- Nick Kenny
- Andy Hamilton
- Mike De Decker
- Ryan Meikle
- Lisa Ashton
- Bradley Brooks
- William Borland
- Ciarán Teehan
- Alan Tabern
- Kai Fan Leung
- Jesús Noguera
- Raymond van Barneveld
- Krzysztof Kciuk
- Steve Brown
- Peter Jacques
- Martin Atkins
- Steffen Siepmann
- Gary Blades
- Alan Soutar
- Harald Leitinger
- Eddie Lovely
- Keane Barry
- Jonathan Worsley
- Aaron Beeney
Number 97–128 of the PDC Order of Merit (starting in first round)
- John Brown
- Gordon Mathers
- John Michael
- Jake Jones
- Kirk Shepherd
- Martin Schindler
- Lewy Williams
- Jack Main
- Berry van Peer
- Scott Mitchell
- Ritchie Edhouse
- Geert Nentjes
- Geert De Vos
- Martin Lukeman
- Danny Baggish
- Joe Murnan
- Peter Hudson
- Zoran Lerchbacher
- Adam Gawlas
- Boris Koltsov
- Brett Claydon
- Andrew Gilding
- David Evans
- Jason Heaver
Florian Hempel(withdrew)- Niels Zonneveld
PDC Development Tour qualifiers (starting in first round)
The top 8 ranked players from the 2020 Development Tour Order of Merit who didn't have a Tour Card for the 2021 season qualified for the first round.
- Damian Mol
- Kevin Doets
- Dom Taylor
- Joe Davis
- Keelan Kay
- Brian Raman
- Rhys Griffin
- Sebastian Białecki
PDC Challenge Tour qualifiers (starting in first round)
The top 8 ranked players from the 2020 Challenge Tour Order of Merit who didn't have a Tour Card for the 2021 season qualified for the first round.
- Matthew Dennant
- Jim Williams
- Rob Collins
- Maikel Verberk
- Jitse Van der Wal
- Nathan Rafferty
- Richie Burnett
- Scott Taylor
PDC UK Qualifying School qualifiers (starting in first round)
The top 8 ranked players from the 2021 UK Qualifying School Order of Merit who didn't have a Tour Card for the 2021 season qualified for the first round.
- Chas Barstow
- Gavin Carlin
- Martin Thomas
- Kevin McDine
- Jim McEwan
- Shane McGuirk
- Matt Jackson
- Sean Fisher
PDC European Qualifying School qualifiers (starting in first round)
The top 8 ranked players from the 2021 European Qualifying School Order of Merit who didn't have a Tour Card for the 2021 season qualified for the first round.
- Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
- Luc Peters
- Rowby-John Rodriguez
- Lorenzo Pronk
- Gino Vos
- Michael Rasztovits
- Ryan de Vreede
- Lukas Wenig
Draw
Friday 5 March
First round (best of eleven legs)
With the withdrawal of the six Tour Card holders, six players received a bye to the second round.
| Player | Score | Player | Player | Score | Player | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rob Collins | w/o | Bye | David Evans | w/o | Bye | |
| Andrew Gilding | w/o | Bye | Michael Rasztovits | w/o | Bye | |
| Martin Thomas | w/o | Bye | Scott Mitchell | w/o | Bye | |
| Rhys Griffin 89.44 | 6 – 5 | Sean Fisher 92.68 | Matt Jackson 84.19 | 3 – 6 | Nathan Rafferty 85.13 | |
| Brett Claydon 81.12 | 3 – 6 | Danny Baggish 88.68 | Keelan Kay 81.55 | 5 – 6 | Kevin McDine 89.93 | |
| Boris Koltsov 89.02 | 6 – 1 | Rusty-Jake Rodriguez 87.38 | Rowby-John Rodriguez 98.44 | 6 – 4 | Brian Raman 91.95 | |
| Berry van Peer 88.19 | 5 – 6 | Martin Schindler 92.06 | Jitse Van der Wal | w/o | Florian Hempel | |
| Geert De Vos 85.86 | 2 – 6 | Niels Zonneveld 96.18 | Martin Lukeman 88.18 | 4 – 6 | Maikel Verberk 93.96 | |
| Scott Taylor 95.20 | 6 – 4 | John Michael 86.79 | Shane McGuirk 92.09 | 2 – 6 | Jack Main 94.50 | |
| Jason Heaver 92.91 | 6 – 2 | Lorenzo Pronk 81.14 | Luc Peters 86.05 | 3 – 6 | Lewy Williams 94.34 | |
| Jim McEwan 90.40 | 2 – 6 | Sebastian Białecki 95.70 | Chas Barstow 89.91 | 6 – 4 | Lukas Wenig 90.66 | |
| Joe Murnan 85.59 | 6 – 2 | Matthew Dennant 83.15 | Joe Davis 85.39 | 3 – 6 | Kevin Doets 89.66 | |
| Adam Gawlas 87.84 | 4 – 6 | Gino Vos 94.61 | Geert Nentjes 92.19 | 6 – 5 | Richie Burnett 91.94 | |
| John Brown 97.99 | 6 – 4 | Gavin Carlin 91.48 | Jake Jones 77.53 | 5 – 6 | Dom Taylor 81.52 | |
| Zoran Lerchbacher 96.50 | 5 – 6 | Jim Williams 91.62 | Gordon Mathers 95.08 | 3 – 6 | Kirk Shepherd 100.06 | |
| Peter Hudson 96.70 | 6 – 1 | Ryan de Vreede 88.22 | Ritchie Edhouse 90.27 | 4 – 6 | Damian Mol 92.22 |
Second round (best of eleven legs)
| Player | Score | Player | Player | Score | Player | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Waites | w/o | Steve Brown | Scott Taylor 87.43 | 6 – 5 | Maikel Verberk 87.96 | |
| Nick Kenny 94.69 | 6 – 5 | Ryan Meikle 92.25 | Ciarán Teehan 94.00 | 6 – 5 | Danny Baggish 91.28 | |
| Lewy Williams 93.91 | 5 – 6 | Scott Mitchell 91.10 | Keane Barry 81.97 | 6 – 1 | Geert Nentjes 76.60 | |
| Maik Kuivenhoven 80.96 | 6 – 4 | Boris Koltsov 78.78 | Kevin McDine 77.40 | 3 – 6 | Rowby-John Rodriguez 85.00 | |
| Joe Murnan 87.99 | 3 – 6 | Kai Fan Leung 91.03 | Andy Hamilton 86.04 | 6 – 5 | Damian Mol 80.31 | |
| Alan Soutar 93.60 | 6 – 3 | Raymond van Barneveld 87.46 | Jack Main 85.57 | 6 – 4 | Rob Collins 86.56 | |
| Sebastian Białecki 93.05 | 6 – 3 | Jitse Van der Wal 88.10 | Chas Barstow 89.66 | 6 – 1 | Martin Thomas 84.73 | |
| Michael Rasztovits 92.38 | 2 – 6 | Peter Jacques 103.54 | William Borland 97.65 | 4 – 6 | Kevin Doets 98.43 | |
| Aaron Beeney 86.71 | 2 – 6 | Lisa Ashton 100.34 | Martin Atkins 96.05 | 6 – 3 | Bradley Brooks 85.03 | |
| Jason Heaver 84.48 | 5 – 6 | Eddie Lovely 83.31 | Niels Zonneveld 81.58 | 2 – 6 | Derk Telnekes 84.09 | |
| Jonathan Worsley 92.19 | 1 – 6 | Andrew Gilding 97.78 | Martijn Kleermaker 82.43 | 6 – 3 | Wayne Jones 80.89 | |
| Peter Hudson 92.35 | 6 – 1 | Jesús Noguera 80.45 | Jim Williams 101.79 | 6 – 1 | Kirk Shepherd 90.63 | |
| John Brown 80.40 | 6 – 5 | Nathan Rafferty 76.61 | Dom Taylor 70.59 | 0 – 6 | Gary Blades 85.08 | |
| Steffen Siepmann 85.38 | 4 – 6 | David Evans 83.05 | Mike De Decker 88.35 | 4 – 6 | Rhys Griffin 88.29 | |
| Alan Tabern 93.55 | 5 – 6 | Gino Vos 92.66 | Ryan Murray 92.87 | 2 – 6 | Krzysztof Kciuk 93.89 | |
| Jeff Smith 88.19 | 1 – 6 | Martin Schindler 95.75 | Harald Leitinger 72.00 | 0 – 6 | Karel Sedláček 87.55 |
Third round (best of eleven legs)
Fourth round (best of nineteen legs)
Saturday 6 March
Fifth round (best of nineteen legs)
| Player | Score | Player | Player | Score | Player | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Waites 91.16 | 5 – 10 | Devon Petersen 94.01 | Darius Labanauskas 95.07 | 9 – 10 | Simon Whitlock 98.02 | |
| Rob Cross 101.75 | 7 – 10 | James Wade 97.50 | Luke Humphries 101.68 | 10 – 7 | Ryan Searle 101.38 | |
| Gerwyn Price 98.66 | 10 – 3 | Ricky Evans 92.37 | Michael Smith 90.30 | 9 – 10 | José de Sousa 93.17 | |
| Callan Rydz 86.65 | 6 – 10 | Martijn Kleermaker 88.65 | Alan Soutar 92.33 | 10 – 7 | Ron Meulenkamp 93.73 | |
| Chris Dobey 99.31 | 10 – 1 | John Brown 84.73 | Luke Woodhouse 90.09 | 6 – 10 | Brendan Dolan 93.61 | |
| Peter Jacques 93.49 | 10 – 9 | Max Hopp 91.93 | Dave Chisnall 104.37 | 10 – 7 | Danny Noppert 99.40 | |
| Michael van Gerwen 103.78 | 10 – 4 | Mensur Suljović 98.89 | Daryl Gurney 93.06 | 7 – 10 | Gabriel Clemens 100.86 | |
| Jonny Clayton 108.39 | 10 – 3 | Dirk van Duijvenbode 99.07 | Krzysztof Ratajski 100.55 | 10 – 8 | Madars Razma 93.89 |
Sixth round (best of nineteen legs)
| Player | Score | Player | Player | Score | Player | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| José de Sousa 97.42 | 9 – 10 | Michael van Gerwen 99.72 | Devon Petersen 90.11 | 10 – 4 | Peter Jacques 88.20 | |
| Gabriel Clemens 89.36 | 5 – 10 | James Wade 99.99 | Luke Humphries 93.53 | 10 – 4 | Martijn Kleermaker 82.11 | |
| Brendan Dolan 94.04 | 9 – 10 | Simon Whitlock 98.78 | Chris Dobey 101.31 | 5 – 10 | Gerwyn Price 102.07 | |
| Krzysztof Ratajski 103.52 | 10 – 3 | Jonny Clayton 96.05 | Dave Chisnall 99.52 | 10 – 8 | Alan Soutar 91.28 |
Sunday 7 March
Quarter-finals (best of nineteen legs)
| Player | Score | Player |
|---|---|---|
| Simon Whitlock 96.70 | 8 – 10 | James Wade 98.39 |
| Gerwyn Price 100.71 | 10 – 9 | Devon Petersen 98.21 |
| Dave Chisnall 96.07 | 9 – 10 | Luke Humphries 98.78 |
| Krzysztof Ratajski 104.14 | 7 – 10 | Michael van Gerwen 102.82 |
Semi-finals and Final
| Semi-finals (best of 21 legs) | Final (best of 21 legs) | ||||||||
| James Wade 97.63 | 11 | ||||||||
| Gerwyn Price 96.68 | 6 | ||||||||
| James Wade 102.52 | 11 | ||||||||
| Luke Humphries 97.95 | 5 | ||||||||
| Luke Humphries 107.41 | 11 | ||||||||
| Michael van Gerwen 106.27 | 5 | ||||||||
References
- ^ "The UK Open to move to the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes this March". Sky Sports. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ "Ladbrokes UK Open glory for nine-dart Van Gerwen". PDC. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
- ^ a b Phillips, Josh. "Ladbrokes UK Open Day One". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ Allen, Dave. "Ever-present trio joined as history-makers by teenager". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "2021 Ladbrokes UK Open to be played in Milton Keynes". PDC. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ "2021 Ladbrokes UK Open Preview". PDC. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
- ^ "Pipe to miss Ladbrokes UK Open after positive Covid test". PDC. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.