2019 UK Open Darts Betting Tips

2019 UK Open Darts Betting Tips

UK Open Darts 2019 Preview

Only one day after Thursday’s Premier League action, this year’s UK Open gets underway at Butlins’ Minehead Resort in Somerset.

The big news is that the defending champion Gary Anderson will be taking part. The Flying Scotsman hasn’t competed since losing his World Championship semi-final in December and has since pulled out of both the Masters and the Premier League to undergo treatment for a long-standing back problem. However, he has now been confirmed among the entries for the Open which starts this Friday. As well as Anderson, the likes of Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross, Peter Wright and Michael Smith will all be confident of glory.

Amateurs and pros alike descend upon UK Open

This event is popular with fans due to the randomness of matches. Likened to football’s FA Cup, the Open allows for no seeding advantage and includes the participation of 32 amateur qualifiers among the 159-player field, which is also made up 128 PDC Tour Card Holders. 16 qualifiers are drawn from the 2018 PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour Order of Merit and 16 others are part of the Riley’s Amateur Qualifiers, which once featured the likes of Rob Cross, 12/1 at Betway to win outright this year. From there, as in the FA Cup, a random draw is made at the conclusion of every round meaning unheralded players can, and often do, go on a deep tournament run.

Last year, play took place behind closed doors after the UK was caught in a freak snowstorm dubbed Storm Emma. No such problems look likely this year as the UK has instead posted record-breaking February weather meaning the venue should be packed. The draws for the first three rounds, which will be played over eight separate stages, have already been made. And it’s in the fourth round that the world’s top 32 take to the stage on Friday evening where things get interesting. As you would expect, the cream always rises to the top in darts and the past five winners are Michael van Gerwen (twice), Gary Anderson, Adrian Lewis and Peter Wright, who has finished runner-up in this competition twice.

All of the above are in the line up again as is Michael Smith, who has recovered in time from the emergency abscess surgery he underwent on Monday and carries Betway’s price of 12/1 on his head for tournament success. One to look out for is the pantomime villain that is Wales’ Gerwyn Price, who has been playing well of late in the ongoing Premier League Darts and has won back to back PDC Players Championship titles this past weekend. He is available at a very tempting 25/1 with Betway Sports. The 25/1 offered on PDC newbie Glen Durrant is definitely another one to consider too. The reigning BDO World Champion is new to the PDC organisation and has already won his first competition.

Naturally, it’s hard to oppose Michael van Gerwen but his odds-on 5/6 makes things less interesting for those looking to turn a profit. Second favourite Gary Anderson should feel suitably refreshed and has won here before meaning Betway’s 8/1 catches the eye. Another former winner, Peter Wright can be backed at 16/1, just short of the 20/1 Betway have placed on Mensur Suljovic and Gerwyn Price’s 22/1.

QUICK GLANCE AT THE UK Open

Venue: Butlin’s Minehead Resort
Dates: Friday 01.03.2019 to Sunday 03.03.2019
Format: First, Second & Third Rounds (Best of 11 legs), Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, QFs (Best of 19 legs), Semi-Finals and Final (Best of 21 legs)
Current Champion: Gary Anderson
Prize Money: £450,000
Where To Watch: ITV 4
When To Watch: (From 11.00 GMT Friday with coverage across the weekend)

Schedule for The 2019 UK Open

Main Stage

  • Mark McGeeney v David Pallett – First Round
  • Wes Newton v Cameron Menzies – First Round
  • Dawson Murschell v Ross Smith – Second Round
  • Glen Durrant v Day/Kuivenhoven – Second Round
  • Portela/Bates v Hughes/Rydz – Second Round
  • Taylor/Labanauskas v Kevin Burness – Second Round
  • Luke Humphries v Vincent van der Voort – Third Round
  • Toni Alcinas v Nathan Aspinall – Third Round
  • Ricky Evans v Justicia/Thoburn/Dennant – Third Round
  • Dimitri Van den Bergh v Shepherd/Worsley/Brooks – Third Round

Stage Two

  • Barry Lynn v Michael Rasztovits – First Round
  • Jamie Hughes v Callan Rydz – First Round
  • Dennis Nilsson v Madars Razma – First Round
  • Mike van Duivenbode v Ted Evetts – First Round
  • Scott Taylor v Darius Labanauskas – First Round
  • Wayne Jones v Vincent Kamphuis – Second Round
  • C Harris/Davey v Adam Hunt – Second Round
  • Temple/Preston v Arron Monk – Second Round
  • Shepherd/Worsley v Bradley Brooks – Second Round
  • Mickey Mansell v Danny Noppert – Third Round
  • James Richardson v Steve Lennon – Third Round
  • Baker/Harrington v Krzysztof Ratajski – Third Round
  • Devon Petersen v Portela/Bates/Hughes/Rydz – Third Round

Stage Three

  • Conan Whitehead v Michael Burgoine – First Round
  • Shaun Fox v Andy Jenkins – First Round
  • Joe Murnan v Mark Frost – First Round
  • Diogo Portela v Barrie Bates – First Round
  • Mark Wilson v Mark Dudbridge – Second Round
  • Nilsson/Razma v McGeeney/Pallett – Second Round
  • Van Duivenbode/Evetts v George Killington – Second Round
  • Collins/Rodriguez v Andy Boulton – Second Round
  • Gabriel Clemens v Zoran Lerchbacher – Third Round
  • Beveridge/Woodhouse v Chris Dobey – Third Round
  • Stevenson/Gray/McFarlane v Mark Webster – Third Round
  • Carlin/Bunse/Michael v Durrant/Day/Kuivenhoven – Third Round

Stage Four

  • Adam Huckvale v Mark Barilli – First Round
  • Geert Nentjes v David Evans – First Round
  • Cody Harris v John Davey – First Round
  • Kirk Shepherd v Jonathan Worsley – First Round
  • Matthew Edgar v Gary Eastwood – Second Round
  • Harry Ward v Browning/L Harris – Second Round
  • Newton/Menzies v Atkins/Bain – Second Round
  • Derry/Budgen v Van der Meer/Dootson – Second Round
  • Richard North v Ronny Huybrechts – Third Round
  • Ryan Joyce v Owen/Kantele/Lacey – Third Round
  • Newton/Menzies/Atkins/Bain v Josh Payne – Third Round
  • Cullen/Robinson/De Sousa/Raman v Van Duijvenbode/Clark/Zonneveld – Third Round

Stage Five

  • Jose de Sousa v Brian Raman – First Round
  • Nathan Derry v Lee Budgen – First Round
  • Vincent van der Meer v Eddie Dootson – First Round
  • Matt Clark v Niels Zonneveld – First Round
  • Robert Marijanovic v Davy van Baelen – Second Round
  • Fox/Jenkins v Mario Robbe – Second Round
  • Simon Stevenson v Gray/McFarlane – Second Round
  • Gavin Carlin v Bunse/Michael – Second Round
  • Wilson/Dudbridge v William O’Connor – Third Round
  • Fox/Jenkins/Robbe v Jeffrey de Zwaan – Third Round
  • Collins/Rodriguez/Boulton v Christian Kist – Third Round
  • Jones/Kamphuis v Taylor/Labanauskas/Burness – Third Round

Stage Six

  • Jarred Cole v Michael Barnard – First Round
  • Jason Cullen v Reece Robinson – First Round
  • Christian Bunse v John Michael – First Round
  • Martin Atkins v Jamie Bain – First Round
  • Scott Baker v Ryan Harrington – Second Round
  • Tony Newell v Huckvale/Barilli – Second Round
  • Tytus Kanik v Wilkinson/Meeuwisse – Second Round
  • Lynn/Rasztovits v Whitehead/Burgoine – Second Round
  • Edgar/Eastwood v Ryan Searle – Third Round
  • Ward/Browning/Harris v Jan Dekker – Third Round
  • Temple/Preston/Monk v Robert Thornton – Third Round
  • Van Duivenbode/Evetts/Killington v Nilsson/Razma/McGeeney/Pallett – Third Round

Stage Seven

  • Marko Kantele v Chris Lacey – First Round
  • Lloyd Browning v Lee Harris – First Round
  • Kevin Thoburn v Matthew Dennant – First Round
  • Adrian Gray v Ian McFarlane – First Round
  • Peter Hudson v John Goldie – Second Round
  • Nentjes/Evans v Cole/Barnard – Second Round
  • Robert Owen v Kantele/Lacey – Second Round
  • Murnan/Frost v Ryan Meikle – Second Round
  • Marijanovic/Van Baelen v Martin Schindler – Third Round
  • Newell/Huckvale/Barilli v Brendan Dolan – Third Round
  • Derry/Budgen/Van der Meer/Dootson v Keegan Brown – Third Round
  • Kanik/Wilkinson/Meeuwisse v Murschell/R Smith – Third Round

Stage Eight

  • Daniel Day v Maik Kuivenhoven – First Round
  • Carl Wilkinson v Yordi Meeuwisse – First Round
  • Terry Temple v Simon Preston – First Round
  • Robbie Collins v Rowby-John Rodriguez – First Round
  • Darren Beveridge v Luke Woodhouse – Second Round
  • Cullen/Robinson v De Sousa/Raman – Second Round
  • Jose Justicia v Thoburn/Dennant – Second Round
  • Dirk van Duijvenbode v Clark/Zonneveld – Second Round
  • Ron Meulenkamp v C Harris/Davey/Hunt – Third Round
  • Nentjes/Evans/Cole/Barnard v Justin Pipe – Third Round
  • Murnan/Frost/Meikle v Alan Tabern – Third Round
  • Lynn/Rasztovits/Whitehead/Burgoine v Hudson/Goldie – Third Round
  • Fourth Round (Best of 19 legs)

Saturday March 2

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

Sunday March 3

  • Quarter-Finals (Best of 19 legs)
  • Semi-Finals (Best of 21 legs)
  • Final (Best of 21 legs)
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After Cancelled Premier League Event, Gary Anderson Wins UK Open

After Cancelled Premier League Event, Gary Anderson Wins UK Open

Gardy Anderson Wins UK Open

Thursday night’s Premier League Darts in Exeter was cancelled due to heavy snow and freezing conditions across the UK caused by Storm Emma, aka The Beast From The East, which put an understandable question mark on fan safety.

What this means for Darts is that the missed fixtures will now be played on April 5th at Liverpool’s Echo Arena which will also see Judgement Night moved back a week. The bottom two players in the league table will both be eliminated with the remaining eight going on to compete in May’s Play-Offs.

UK Open held despite weather

Despite the cancellation in Exeter, there was still some action over the weekend for Darts fans. There was the small matter of the UK Open to take care of over the weekend, which did manage to go ahead almost as planned. The event was played behind closed doors without spectators due to the naughty and really rather unseasonable weather, and this time the winner was The Flying Scotsman himself, Gary Anderson.

It was the first UK Open title of the twice world champion’s career, with this victory coming after he beat Australian youngster Corey Cadby 11-7 in Sunday’s final in Minehead.

Earlier on in the weekend and following the shock exits of Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright on opening night, Anderson defeated world champion Rob Cross 10-5 at the quarter-final stage before destroying David Pallett 11-7 in the semi-finals. Cadby gave him plenty of trouble, and Anderson soon found himself 4-1 down against the 22-year-old, before rallying off four legs in a row to give himself the 5-4 lead.

Cadby, who saw off Gerwyn Price and Robert Owen earlier on the day, didn’t give up easily, hitting back a number of times. Anderson struck hard with finishes of 70 and 91 to move within an inch of victory, which was claimed soon after with a follow up 14-dart, double 18 finish.

Premier League Darts betting tips

2018 Premier League Darts lineup

Matchday six gets underway at the First Direct Arena in Leeds. Again, viewers at home can catch the action on Sky Sports Action HD and Sky Sports Main Event HD from 19:00 GMT.

The action will begin between Michael van Gerwen and Simon Whitlock, with MVG still reeling from his shock exit by Jeffrey De Zwaan at the UK Open. This result should — and most likely will — mean that Mighty Mike is a man on a mission for which The Wizard could well pay a hefty price. Whitlock, by the way, has won only once in the last 20 times that these two have met, so things look ominous for the Aussie. The smart money on this match, as it so often does, should go on MVG. At 1/7, van Gerwen is short value. Instead, consider him to win by over 2.5 legs, hit a 100+ checkout and average over 100, all for 7/4 at Betway.

Next out are Gerwyn Price and Raymond van Barneveld. Welshman Price lost to Corey Cadby in the quarter-finals of the Open at the weekend, but that’s still better than Barney’s third round exit at the hands of Mervyn King. The pair combined to have three draws this season, which leads me to believe that this one is also destined to end in a tie.

The third game of the night brings Peter Wright and Mensur Suljovic to the oche in a match where I’m backing Snakebite to win. Before you jump in and do likewise, you should take note that Mensur has beaten Peter in their last couple of televised matches. He’ll also be confident, especially having rested up and sitting out The Open, unlike Wright who suffered a nightmare in Minehead.

Suljovic finally banked a win a fortnight ago but has not played since. This could have cost him his momentum, which would be very unfortunate for the popular Austrian. Peter, like MVG, will be seeking to bounce back from his poor Open performance — and I think he will. World number two, Snakebite is another odds-on favorite win his encounter, so pump up the value by picking him to win, hit 5 or more 180s and 120+ checkout for 12/1.

The UK Open champion Gary Anderson goes next in his match against Daryl Gurney knowing that the Ulsterman has beaten him the last few times out. While fatigue and backache could play a part in Anderson’s performance, confidence collected from his weekend triumph should counteract this. This is especially relevant here as this is the type of fixture that Anderson cannot afford to lose with Gurney currently occupying one of the bottom spaces. I don’t expect Anderson to disappoint here.

The night draws to a close with World Champion Rob Cross and current league leader Michael Smith clashing. Smith, unbeaten in the Darts Premier League, lost 10-9 to Steve West at the Open over the weekend, but I think he’ll bounce back and could well give Cross a scare. With that said, I’m team Voltage on this one, even at Betway’s 4/5. Alternatively, for 6/1 you can try Cross to win, Smith to hit a 100+ checkout and average under 100.

Remember, that if you stake a minimum of £5 on a player to win and he loses 7-5, Betway will pay out as a winner. That’s perfect for a tight match such as this one. For even more value, try Betway’s boosted treble odds of 5/1 on van Barneveld, Anderson and Cross all to win.

Our line for the week is thus: MVG, a Price/van Barneveld tie, Wright, Anderson & Cross for 24/1.

  • (1/7) Michael van Gerwen v Simon Whitlock (12/1)
  • (5/2) Gerwyn Price v Raymond van Barneveld (4/5)
  • (8/11) Peter Wright v Mensur Suljovic (11/4)
  • (1/2) Gary Anderson v Daryl Gurney (4/1)
  • (4/5) Rob Cross v Michael Smith (5/2)
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Peter Wright Wins First PDC Event

Before we recap last week’s Premier League action, lets rejoice in Peter Wright breaking his duck and finally claiming his maiden televised PDC event. That’s right, Snakebite took down the UK Open at the Butlins Minehead Resort last Sunday and with it lifted an enormous monkey from his back.

 

On the night, he defeated Gerwyn Price 11-6 to avenge the previous two years where he has twice come runner-up to Michael van Gerwen. This time there were no such problems for the world number three as he produced a display and a tournament win that we all knew was coming and, if anything, was long overdue.

The popular 46-year-old produced a tournament average of 101 and a final average of 100 as he won the final three legs to seal victory, finishing the match on the bull in an 85 checkout.

Speaking after the match, an emotional Scotsman said simply: “It feels great to win my first one. The fans have given me fantastic support, not just this year but also for the last two years.”

Darts Premier League summary

Wright’s victory here followed a win on Thursday night in the fifth week of the Darts Premier League, another tournament where Snakebite is flying high. Wright beat Adrian Lewis 7-2 in the penultimate battle of the night. In truth it was a one sided affair as Lewis, who has been out of form for too long now, couldn’t keep up with Wright who, in contrast, is in the form of his life.

The night began with an upset, however, as Dave Chisnall won 7 legs to Raymond van Barneveld’s 2, meaning my acca was blown apart inside the first half hour. I’m sure I wasn’t alone. This was followed by an unsurprising 6-6 tie between Jelle Klaasen and Kim Huybrechts before an equally predictable 6-6 was played out by the world number two, Gary Anderson, and retiring legend, Phil Taylor.

In the final match of the night, Chizzy was wheeled out once more to replace an injured Michael van Gerwen who dropped out in the hope his back injury would improve. Chizzy, suddenly alive with form, beat James Wade 5-7 and leaves the Dutchman needing to play two games in week eight in order to catch up.

Premier League Darts betting tips and hints

Play now moves on to The SSE Hydro in Glasgow where another action-packed Thursday night awaits. The Stoke pair of Jackpot Lewis and Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor open up the action at around about 19:00 with the points looking likely to head to the 16-time world champion.

This match is followed by James Wade coming up against Peter Wright where I will stick to Wright stretching his run further still. That said, this is the toughest to call this week with the very capable Wade always a threat.

Huybrechts and MVG are up next and, providing the World Champion’s back holds up, this should be a coast for Mighty Mike. Slightly tougher to call is the Klaasen versus Barney match that follows; it depends on which Raymond van Barneveld turns up on the night. Should the real Barney stand up, it’s a no-brainer win for elder stateman of Dutch darts.

Finally, Chizzy meets Gary Anderson who will fancy his chances – which is why I’m tempted to pick the line of Taylor, Wright, MVG, RVB and Anderson. However, not being brave enough to put on a single acca, I will opt this week for a Canadian instead at just over 11/1 for the five-fold with Betway.

I will also be backing James Wade to make the highest checkout, with odds worth 6/5 available at SkyBet. Plus, given the form he has started to show at long, long last, I’m going to lay some money on an outright win on Snakebite himself. The best I have found for this is by far and away at Bet365 where he is almost twice as good as value as anywhere else.

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