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UK Open 2025: Free darts betting tips, predictions and preview for the ITV4-televised major in Minehead

By Chris Hammer

Darts

Sat March 01, 2025 · 1M ago

The Ladbrokes UK Open takes place this weekend, live on ITV4, and our Chris Hammer brings you his tournament tips.

Darts betting tips: UK Open

1pt Gerwyn Price to win the UK Open at 14/1 (Coral)

1pt each-way Ryan Searle to win the UK Open at 30/1 (StarSports, 1/4 1,2,3,4)

1pt each-way Damon Heta to win the UK Open at 40/1 (General, 1/4 1,2,3,4)

1pt each-way Danny Noppert to win the UK Open at 66/1 (Unibet, BetMGM, 1/4 1,2,3,4)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

The 'FA Cup of Darts' is always regarded as one of the hardest majors to predict due to the random draw format and the amount of games players have to win in such a short space of time - while the fact that many of them play a mixture of main stage and outer board matches is also a bit of a leveller.

Andrew Gilding's shock triumph here two years ago as a 100/1 outsider further underlined the belief that 'anyone can win it' while Nathan Aspinall was also a three-figure priced champion back in 2019 prior to his rise to prominance.

Danny Noppert wasn't exactly a name on everyone's lips in 2022 when he won his last two matches of the tournament with averages under 90 to lift the trophy, and few would have anticipated Dimitri Van den Bergh to overcome Luke Humphries in last year's final.

Each-way terms for this event pays four places so if you bare in mind that Adam Gawlas, Keane Barry, William O'Connor and Ricky Evans have all reached the semi-finals across the last three years, it's clear to see there's potentially some profitable fun to be had with the so called rank outsiders.

Given how many players are involved this weekend, you'll need a lot of luck for any of your long shots to reach the business end of the tournament on Sunday, so I'm going to look at the more 'likely' contenders instead.

GERWYN PRICE

It's fantastic to see Gerwyn Price in confident mood once again following a deflating 2024 that had caused him to question his future in the sport.

Having worked with a sports psychologist at the back end of the year, Price rediscovered his mojo and love for darts at the World Championship and he's carried that on into 2025 with a string of blockbusting performances, a Pro Tour title and a highly impressive start to the Premier League season.

Although he's still got some way to go before he reaches his former heights, he's certainly on the right track, while he's also using the energy of the crowd to get him there.

In all sports, fans tend to get behind a sports star's revival if they've experienced a fall from grace (after the 'kicking them when they're down' phase ends!) and I feel we're getting that with the Iceman at the moment.

He may still have elements of the 'pantomime villain' about him but - as Paul Nicholson wrote in his UK Open column - the discerning Minehead darts crowd aren't really interested in any of that, and there'll also be a hearty Welsh contingent in attendance.

CLICK HERE to back Price to win the UK Open with Sky Bet

RYAN SEARLE

As always seems to be the case, Ryan Searle has made a superb start to the season by winning one of the four Players Championship tournaments as well as enjoying deep runs in two others.

Heavy Metal, who has a well-established track record of starting a year like a house on fire, has won 16 of his 20 matches so far in 2025 while his average of 98.01 in all competitions is fourth only to Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen and Luke Humphries.

Another factor to throw into the mix is that this is his 'home' major and will always have a lot of crowd support, especially when he gets an appearance on the Main Stage.

You may remember him reaching the climax of the Players Championship Finals here in Minehead back in 2021 when he narrowly lost to Peter Wright and hopefully he can use this as inspiration to reach the final day of the UK Open for the first time.

He admitted he's been quite lazy in the past by only doing the bare minimum, but has pledged to put in the hard work this year and realise his potential. Could his major breakthrough finally happen this weekend?

CLICK HERE to back Searle to win the UK Open with Sky Bet

DANNY NOPPERT

I recently backed Danny Noppert at a big price to win the World Masters but sadly - and agonisingly - he was beaten in the semi-finals by Luke Humphries, who also ended the hopes of my other each-way tip Jonny Clayton in the final.

Nevertheless, that superb run would have been a real confidence boost for the Dutchman and since then he's consolidated his form with some decent results in the opening four Players Championship events of the season without challenging for honours.

Noppert upset the odds to win the UK Open back in 2022 when he beat the likes of Dirk van Duijvenbode and Damon Heta before showing nerves of steal to overcome Michael Smith 11-10 after surviving match darts.

He's an unflappable character and will be a dangerous draw for anyone - whether it's on the main stage or the outer boards.

CLICK HERE to back Noppert to win the UK Open with Sky Bet

DAMON HETA

Having witnessed Damon Heta throwing a bullseye left-handed at Cheltenham racecourse earlier this week, I can hardly leave him out of my staking plan can I?!

On a serious note, the increasingly popular Aussie, who achieved the above feat while taking on a group of jockeys during an fittingly-named exhibition event called 'Dartenham', has enjoyed a pretty steady start to the campaign and there's plenty more room for improvement.

His run to the World Masters quarter-finals was ended by eventual champion Luke Humphries and since then he's picked up some decent results on the Pro Tour without playing to the levels we know he's capable of.

Heta overcame Luke Littler 10-8 in last year's UK Open quarter-finals with an average of 106 only to run out of steam against Dimitri Van den Bergh in the next round, while he also reached the final day in the 2022 edition and also at the Players Championship Finals on two occasions.

The Aussie is clearly comfortable in the Minehead surroundings and the top players will want to avoid him.

CLICK HERE to back Heta to win the UK Open with Sky Bet

UK Open: Early round draws and schedule

Friday February 28
Afternoon Session (1100-1700 GMT)
TV Channel: ITV4 on-air from 1145 GMT
Main Stage (1200 GMT onwards)
2x First Round, 4x Second Round, 3x Third Round

Mike Gillet v Rusty-Jake Rodriguez (R1)
Beau Greaves v Stefan Bellmont (R1)
William Borland v Brett Claydon (R2)
Darren Beveridge v James Hurrell (R2)
Thibault Tricole v Roelofs/Sykes (R2)
Jelle Klaasen v Lipscombe/Dewsbury (R2)
Scott Williams v Wessel Nijman (R3)
Ricky Evans v Gabriel Clemens (R3)
Henderson/Usher/Gillet/Rodriguez v Raymond van Barneveld (R3)

Stage Two
4x First Round, 3x Second Round, 3x Third Round

Cor Dekker v Niko Springer (R1)
Wesley Plaisier v Cam Crabtree (R1)
Sebastian Bialecki v Viktor Tingstrom (R1)
Shaun Fox v Max Hopp (R1)
Radek Szaganski v Benjamin Reus (R2)
Manby/Kirk v Haupai Puha (R2)
Chris Landman v Kist/Perry (R2)
Jermaine Wattimena v Florian Hempel (R3)
Madars Razma v Ryan Meikle (R3)
Wenig/Rowley/Sedlacek v Kim Huybrechts (R3)
Plus one game TBC

Stage Three
5x First Round, 4x Second Round, 4x Third Round

Darryl Pilgrim v Chris Hartrey (R1)
Paul Rowley v Karel Sedlacek (R1)
Adam Lipscombe v Marc Dewsbury (R1)
Greg Ritchie v Jamie Kelling (R1)
Danny van Trijp v Henry Coates (R1)
George Killington v Owen Bates (R2)
Weber/Merkx v Wickenden/Girvan (R2)
Coulson/Labanauskas v Mario Vandenbogaerde (R2)
Joshua Richardson v Van Velzen/Bissell (R2)
Callan Rydz v Alan Soutar (R3)
Tricole/Roelofs/Sykes v William O'Connor (R3)
Jose de Sousa v Van Schie/Paxton/Stevenson/Van Dongen (R3)
Ian White v Klaasen/Lipscombe/Dewsbury (R3)

Stage Four
5x First Round, 4x Second Round, 4x Third Round

Simon Stevenson v Jules van Dongen (R1)
Dennie Olde Kalter v Andy Boulton (R1)
Christopher Wickenden v Nathan Girvan (R1)
Oskar Lukasiak v Thomas Lovely (R1)
Marvin van Velzen v Tom Bissell (R1)
Steve Lennon v Dom Taylor (R2)
Martijn Dragt v Dudeney/Hall (R2)
Fox/Hopp v Justin Hood (R2)
Berry van Peer v Van Trijp/Coates (R2)
Rob Owen v Niels Zonneveld (R3)
Keane Barry v Van der Velde/Kanik/Brooks (R3)
Kevin Doets v Warner/Morris/Ritchie/Kelling (R3)
Manby/Kirk/Puha v Landman/Kist/Perry (R3)

Stage Five
4x First Round, 4x Second Round, 5x Third Round

Tommy Lishman v Kai Gotthardt (R1)
Christian Kist v Daniel Perry (R1)
Maximilian Czerwinski v Maik Kuivenhoven (R1)
Jimmy van Schie v Adam Paxton (R1)
Lukas Wenig v Rowley/Sedlacek (R2)
Baker/Harrysson v Jansen/Gruellich (R2)
Henderson/Usher v Gillet/Rodriguez (R2)
Andy Baetens v Plaisier/Crabtree (R2)
Jim Williams v Martin Lukeman (R3)
Lennon/Taylor v Cameron Menzies (R3)
Dennant/Olde Kalter/Boulton v Lukasiak/Lovely/Cocks/Henderyck (R3)
Griffin/Greaves/Bellmont v Mickey Mansell (R3)
Fox/Hopp/Hood v Beveridge/Hurrell (R3)

Stage Six
4x First Round, 4x Second Round, 4x Third Round

Tavis Dudeney v Graham Hall (R1)
John Henderson v Graham Usher (R1)
Danny Jansen v Dominik Gruellich (R1)
Derek Coulson v Darius Labanauskas (R1)
Lishman/Gotthardt v Michele Turetta (R2)
Adam Hunt v Czerwinski/Kuivenhoven (R2)
Van der Velde/Kanik v Bradley Brooks (R2)Ljubic/Long v Nathan Rafferty (R2)
Van der Wal/Pilgrim/Hartrey v Danny Lauby (R3)
Grundy/Bialecki/Tingstrom v Luke Woodhouse (R3)
Weber/Merkx/Wickenden/Girvan v Matt Campbell (R3)
Szaganski/Reus v Baetens/Plaisier/Crabtree (R3)

Stage Seven
4x First Round, 4x Second Round, 4x Third Round

Leon Weber v Alexander Merkx (R1)
Adam Warner v Tommy Morris (R1)
Jurjen van der Velde v Tytus Kanik (R1)
Lee Cocks v Stefaan Henderyck (R1)
Dekker/Springer v Patrick Geeraets (R2)
Matthew Dennant v Olde Kalter/Boulton (R2)
Lukasiak/Lovely v Cocks/Henderyck (R2)
Rhys Griffin v Greaves/Bellmont (R2)
Nick Kenny v Baker/Harrysson/Jansen/Gruellich (R3)
Dragt/Dudeney/Hall v Borland/Claydon (R3)
Mensur Suljovic v Ljubic/Long/Rafferty (R3)
Van Peer/Van Trijp/Coates v Connor Scutt (R3)

Stage Eight
4x First Round, 4x Second Round, 4x Third Round

Scott Baker v Andreas Harrysson (R1)
Owen Roelofs v Tom Sykes (R1)
Charlie Manby v Aden Kirk (R1)
Pero Ljubic v Jim Long (R1)
Jitse van der Wal v Pilgrim/Hartrey (R2)
Robert Grundy v Bialecki/Tingstrom (R2)
Van Schie/Paxton v Stevenson/Van Dongen (R2)
Warner/Morris v Ritchie/Kelling (R2)
Dekker/Springer/Geeraets v Dylan Slevin (R3)
Lishman/Gotthardt/Turetta v Stephen Burton (R3)
Richard Veenstra v Coulson/Labanauskas/Vandenbogaerde (R3)
Richardson/Van Velzen/Bissell v Killington/Bates (R3)

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Fourth Round
TV Channel: ITV4

8x Stages, 4 Matches per board

Players 1-32 - Enter in Fourth Round

1. Luke Humphries
2. Luke Littler
3. Michael van Gerwen
4. Rob Cross
5. Stephen Bunting
6. Jonny Clayton
7. Dave Chisnall
8. Chris Dobey
9. Gerwyn Price
10. Damon Heta
11. Nathan Aspinall
12. Peter Wright
13. Danny Noppert
14. James Wade
15. Gary Anderson
16. Dimitri Van den Bergh
17. Josh Rock
18. Ryan Searle
19. Ross Smith
20. Michael Smith
21. Andrew Gilding
22. Martin Schindler
23. Joe Cullen
24. Mike De Decker
25. Daryl Gurney
26. Dirk van Duijvenbode
27. Gian van Veen
28. Ritchie Edhouse
29. Ryan Joyce
30. Ricardo Pietreczko
31. Krzysztof Ratajski
32. Brendan Dolan