The second Ranking tournament on the PDC Calendar is being played in Minehead over the weekend and the UK Open has long been described as the 'FA Cup of Darts'.
Much like the football competition, the top Seeds are held out until the Fourth Round of the competition, which is played in the Evening Session on Day 1 of the tournament.
And just like the FA Cup, the UK Open Darts tournament is an open draw that takes place after each Round following the opening three Rounds, which are played on Day 1 during the Day Session in a best of eleven Leg format.
That becomes best of nineteen in the Fourth Round and the markets will be priced up after the draw is made on Friday afternoon- an open draw means we could see some big matches immediately.
Round Five is set to be played in the Day Session on Day 2, while the Sixth Round will be played in the Evening Session on the same day.
Most top Darts players will be used to the Quarter Final, Semi Final and Final played on the Sunday, although the longer format does make it more challenging and increases the importance of trying to get through matches without having to face too much emotional drama.
Picks from the Day 1 Evening Session should be added here around 6pm (assuming markets are put together pretty quickly) and there is no doubting the intensity of all participants with big prize money and strong Ranking Points to be earned.
Gian van Veen to win & over 4.5 180s v Rob Cross: It has been a tough year for Rob Cross who has slipped out of the top 20 in the World Rankings, but he has been producing some decent stuff on the floor.
More will be needed if he is going to get the better of a player who replaced him in the Premier League in 2026.
Gian van Veen has found a consistent level in the Premier League, but has also shown he is a very competitive match player at the World Championship and World Masters.
The Dutchman should have enough to progress past Rob Cross and the expectation is that he will hit at least five maximums in what could be a match that needs at least fifteen Legs before finding Gian van Veen in a position to win and take his place in the draw for the next Round.
Michael Smith - 2.5 legs v Leon Weber: The underdog has come through a couple of Rounds at the UK Open and was hitting some big maximums in those wins.
However, Leon Weber has invested a lot already today with eleven Legs needed in both wins and his average has been far from impressive.
Now while Michael Smith has not been near his best level over the last twelve months, he has shown on the floor and in Qualifying for European Tour events that he is still a level above what he should see in this Fourth Round match.
In a best of nineteen format, Bully Boy should be able to come through with some room to spare.
Luke Humphries to win & most 180s v Luke Woodhouse: If the World Masters meeting is anything to go by, this is going to be one of the ties of the Round in the Fourth Round at the UK Open.
Luke Woodhouse is improving all of the time, but he fell short against Luke Humphries in the World Masters and that is likely going to be the case again.
Set play can make scores that much closer, but Humphries won eleven of the eighteen Legs played at the World Masters and he has still been playing at a level that could be too much for most to handle.
One concern is that Luke Humphries has struggled to maintain standards within matches and he will need to make a fast start- he has been scoring well, but the doubling has been letting him down at times.
As long as he can look after that side of his darts, Luke Humphries may have one or two more maximums in a winning effort.
Gary Anderson - 1.5 legs v Dirk van Duijvenbode: This should be a big hitting match, but Gary Anderson has found a way past the Dutchman in the last three meetings on the Tour.
They only met once last year, but Anderson found that relatively comfortable and he has been playing with a bit more consistency on the floor.
Dirk van Duijvenbode is always capable of producing an upset with his power scoring, but Gary Anderson can match that side of his darts and may use the fan support to find a way to something like a 10-7 win.
Josh Rock - 2.5 legs v William O'Connor: The Premier League has proven to be a really difficult step for Josh Rock, but the actual performances are not as bad as the results being produced.
He is going to be pushed by William O'Connor, who was receiving plenty of support in the Day Session, but Rocky has handled the darts thrown at him from this opponent.
They met in Krakow a couple of weeks ago and Josh Rock averaged 10 points higher than O'Connor, which was reflected in the 6-1 win.
Confidence might have been dented by the opening five weeks in the Premier League, but Josh Rock can use the best of nineteen leg format to warm up to the task and eventually pull away in this one.
Nathan Aspinall v Michael van Gerwen: This was a Premier League level match last year and Nathan Aspinall has to be really disappointed that he was not invited back into that tournament.
He has been playing some very good darts to open 2026, but it has been a couple of weeks since we last saw him at the Polish Open.
A huge amount of respect is given to Michael van Gerwen, but Nathan Aspinall may be playing the Dutchman at a good time.
Illness has slowed the early form and van Gerwen has lost his last three matches, while also suffering an early exit at the World Masters. He was not himself on Thursday night at the Premier League and Aspinall had enough wins over him in the Premier League last season to have the confidence to get over the line.
His scoring will need to be on point, but Nathan Aspinall can outlast Michael van Gerwen in this one.
MY PICKS: Gian van Veen to Win & Over 4.5 180s @ 2.10 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Michael Smith - 2.5 Legs @ 1.72 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Luke Humphries to Win & Most 180s @ 1.95 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Gary Anderson - 1.5 Legs @ 1.72 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Josh Rock - 2.5 Legs @ 2.00 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Nathan Aspinall @ 1.91 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Darts 2026: 17-23, - 2.78 Units (39 Units Staked, - 7.13% Yield)
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