2025 UK Open Darts Outright Preview

James Punt is going to be busy this week. Not only will he be covering Thursday’s Premier League quarter-finals, he’s also going to be in action at the UK Open. Last year Dimitri Van Den Bergh lifted the trophy, find out who James is backing for glory this year in his 2025 UK Open Darts outright betting preview.

2025 UK Open Darts

First played in 2003, The UK Open has lived up its name in recent years. The last ten years have seen eight different winners, with only Michael van Gerwen picking up multiple titles (3). A reigning World Champion has not won the UK Open since Phil Taylor back in 2013.

The tournament is known as the FA Cup of Darts due to the fact that no players are seeded. A random draw will be held for each of the rounds following the conclusion of the third round.

160 participants will enter the competition, with 64 players entering in the first round. Match winners will join the 32 players entering in the second and third rounds to leave the last 64 in the fourth round.

Fast And Furious

It is a fast and furious event with the 160 entrants being whittled down to a winner in three days of competition. The first three rounds are played in a best of eleven leg format. The matches then get longer with the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds and quarter-finals being played over best of nineteen legs. The semi-finals and final will be played over best of twenty one 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.

That means that the Majority of matches in the early rounds will not be televised, but many will be streamed on PDCtv. Multiple screens will be required and just keeping up with the results is a bit of a push early on.

Top 32

The top 32 players in the PDC OOM, enter at the fourth round stage on Friday night. The draw for that fourth round is made after the third round matches have concluded. It is hard work for bookies and punters alike and I will not be covering every match until around the sixth round stage, but there will be regular updates with any good value bets that pop up.

Obviously, the random draws mean that we could have two of the top players meeting as soon as the fourth round, and one of them will be going home early. This can really open things up in the betting market and it is possible for an outsider, in good form, to get a nice run of favourable draws and have a deep run.

Four Places E/W

This tournament is unusual in that it is the only Major where the bookmakers, or most of them at least, have each way terms for the top four finishers, and not just the usual two. A quarter the odds for the first four places does allow for backing outsiders at good odds, and hope that they get a good draw and make the semi-finals at least.

We have had some very big priced winners in recent years, such as 126.00 shot Nathan Aspinall in 2019, tipped up by yours truly. Danny Noppert was a decent price in 2022. Andrew Gilding was around 201.00 when he won in 2023. Dimitri van den Bergh was a surprise winner last year, despite being one of the higher ranked players.

Looking at last year’s fourth round draw, it threw up such ties as Luke Humphries vs. Dirk van Duivenbode, Ross Smith vs. Daryl Gurney, Gerwyn Price vs. Martin Schindler, Luke Littler vs. James Wade, Michael Smith vs. Joe Cullen and so on.

Other players picked up much kinder draws, such as Bunting vs. Danny Lauby, Wright vs. Joshua Richardson and Josh Rock getting Patrick Geeraets.

Outsiders Can Go Deep

Usually by the time we get to the quarter finals, we are left with top 32 ranked players but it is possible to get an interloper. Looking at Andrew Gilding’s path to victory in 2023 he beat Ricky Evans, Luke Woodhouse, Brendan Dolan, Martin Schindler, Adam Gawlas and Michael van Gerwen in the final.

He got a decent set of draws, but still faced proper players at every stage, it was just that they didn’t play well against him. His opponents’ three dart average was just 89.83, but a lot of players just can’t handle playing Gilding and his pace of play. So long as he played well, he was in with a good chance. He even weirded out MVG in the final.

Gilding was in decent form going into the tournament and the usual principle of basing your selection upon recent form still applies, but it was fair to say that Gilding was a skinner for the bookmakers. When Nathan Aspinall won in 2019, he was in good form and should never have been a 126.00 shot.

The message is, that this tournament can be harder to predict thanks to the random draw, Your well researched pick can just get a stinking draw, but at the end of the day, the final is usually contested between two top ranked players.

I will take a look at the form of the fancied players in the betting market, and also at some of the lesser lights who could have a good run and take down a fancied name or two.

2025 UK Open Darts – The Big Players

Luke Littler 

Goes off as the 5.00 favourite, for obvious reasons. His 2025 seasonal average is 101.5 and his win rate is 71%. I am writing this before Thursday night’s Premier League matches and as of now, he has won seven of his last ten matches. He lost two on the floor, not his favourite environment, and lost to Gerwyn Price in the PL in Dublin on Night Three.

Littler has played in just ten ranking Majors. He has won two, been runner up in two and lost two quarter finals. One of those losing quarter finals was here last year when he lost 8-10 to Damon Heta.

That was one of the best game of darts I have ever seen and Littler is finding that a lot of players are raising their game when playing him, because they have to. I will not argue with Littler being the short-priced favourite, but is he value? Not for me, especially in this format.

Luke Humphries 

Cool Hand has better win rate than Litter at 78%. He is averaging 98.15, so he is not far off Littler in terms of firepower. He too has won seven of his last ten matches prior to Thursdays PL matches, but he is not playing with the same kind of consistency as Littler is.

Humphries has had four sub 94 averages and that can get you caught out against a top player. He is the 8.00 second favourite and he has a decent tournament record, being runner up in 2021 and 2024.

This is one of the two ranking Majors Humphries has not yet won, so he will be keen to finally get over the line having hit the bar twice before.

Michael van Gerwen 

The three time champion, MVG is struggling in 2025. Prior to Thursday’s PL matches, his win rate is just 50% and he has lost six of his last ten matches. At odds of 12.00, he is easily overlooked. He has not won a ranking Major since 2022, but he still made six finals since then.

Gerwyn Price 

A rejuvenated Iceman demands consideration. From being on the verge of quitting darts, Price has re-discovered his mojo and is enjoying things again. The results are there for all to see. His 2025 win rate is 73%, he won PC2 at the start of the month and picked up his first PL night in Dublin last week.

His consistency is improving and his big weakness of 2024, his doubling, is up to 40.47%. That puts him into 28th place for checkout percentage and he was well outside the top 32 last year, so he is putting it all together and I think there is more to come.

Price is a two time runner up in this event and he does tend to start his seasons well. Shortlist material and odds of 15.00 make a lot of appeal.

Stephen Bunting 

A 21.00 shot, the fourth favourite, despite the fact that he has only ever won one TV event in the PDC from seventy seven entered. Not a great record and we should not be getting excited at odds of 21.00, just because he is good at social media.

Bunting’s form in 2024 was good and he started 2025 with a run to the semi-final of the World Championship, and the quarter final of the re-vamped Masters. Close but no cigar might be inscribed on his headstone.

Bunting’s 2025 win rate is 64% and prior to Thursday’s PL matches, he had lost five of his last ten matches. There is just a little bit of inconsistency creeping into his game. He was pointless and bottom of the PL after the first three weeks, and maybe he has just lost a bit of confidence.

Gary Anderson 

The lesser spotted Anderson. He has played just four matches in 2025 and lost three. Since he lost the semi-final of the Grand Slam back in mid-November 2024, Anderson has played six matches and lost four. Scant form, and what there is cannot be said to be good.

He did lose two matches despite hitting ton plus averages, but it is very hard to say what kind of form he is in because he just hasn’t been playing. He did not travel to the Netherlands for the recent Players Championship events, so passed up the chance for some match practice.

Anderson won this title back in 2018, the year it was played without any spectators thanks to the big freeze which cut off the venue’s water supply. Anderson has not won a ranking Major since 2019 and his last final was in 2021.

His floor form has been very good in the last year or two, but he hasn’t shown up at the business end of many Majors in the last few years. Hard to fancy, even at odds of 26.00.

Rob Cross 

Defending quarter final prizemoney from 2023. Cross has reached the quarter finals here for the last two years. In his nine appearances here, Cross has reached one final (2019) and four quarter finals. It was the scene of his first ever Major back in 2016, when he played as an amateur, losing in the fourth round to MVG.

This is where it all started for Cross. He hasn’t won a Major since 2021, but he had four losing Major quarter finals last year and had started the year by reaching the semi-final of the World Championship.

Cross’ recent form sees a 2025 win rate of 68% and he has won a World Series title and Players Championship title already. Certainly a player to consider.

Chris Dobey 

The Premier League players are dominating the betting market and they have all been getting experience of playing top players week in, week out. Dobey is another of the players priced up at 26.00. He is hard to call. Very talented but something of an underachiever.

He is not unlike Stephen Bunting in that his record in ranking Majors is a bit disappointing. Like Bunting, his only TV title was at the Masters (before it became ranking). Dobey has lost four Major semi-finals and eight Major quarter finals.

His recent form sees a win rate of 66% and before Thursday’s PL matches, Dobey had won eight of his last ten matches. He won PC3 in the Netherlands last week. He was runner up in PC2 before that and there is a lot to like about his game right now. But can he get one over the line in a proper Major? The jury is still out, but he has to be considered, given his form.

Ryan Searle 

Did his usual thing by winning one of the early Players Championships last week. Is it going to be another case of ‘one and done’ for Heavy Metal? He has won one Players Championship title for the last six years but never won two titles of any description in the same year.

His record in the Majors is disappointing. He reached the final of the Players Championship finals in 2021 and had two other Major quarter finals. Searle is ranked outside of the top 16 and not because of a lack of talent, but because he doesn’t fire in the big events. He has said that this year he is going to try and rectify that.

Progress

He made good progress on the Euro Tour in 2024 and he wants to do something similar in TV tournaments in 2025. This is a ‘home’ event for Searle as he lives not far from the venue. However he did say after winning PC4, that while he gets plenty of local support, it doesn’t help him.

He has fallen at the first fence here for the last two years and only won two matches in the last three in this venue. His win rate in 2025 is a whopping 80%, which means he has to be considered, but that Major record dampens my enthusiasm.

Jonny Clayton 

2021, the year of The Ferret, is a while ago now, but Clayton reached the final of the World Masters at the start of the month, beating Luke Littler along the way and taking Luke Humphries to a deciding leg in the final.

He has a 2025 win rate of 71% and is winning his fair share of matches. However, while he has not been that consistent most recently, losing four of his last six matches, a good run would not be a surprise.

Clayton has gone out at the 6th round stage for the last four years, so he has been knocking on the door of a proper good run. Odds of 29.00 are only fair.

Josh Rock

Just playing too inconsistently to think he could have a run of six good performances needed to win him the title.

Gian van Veen 

Van Veen has the game but not the experience. He has made a Major semi-final and another quarter final, but there is a little too much inconsistency to think that 34.00 is any great value.

Dave Chisnall 

Winning a few more matches than he was in the later part of 2024. He was carrying a back injury then and was really struggling. Chizzy has won seven of his last ten matches but they included two sub 80 averages and the required consistency is not yet there. That, and he never wins Majors. Odds of 51.00 are a too short given his record in the big ones.

Danny Noppert 

The 2022 champion and that remains his only Major title. Noppert is getting a deserved reputation as being a bit flaky at the business end of events. He has lost six Major semi-finals, six Euro Tour semi-finals and fourteen Players Championship semi-finals.

If he gets to the semi-finals, I think he might lose. However, he does knock on a lot of doors, and he will get lucky one day, like he did when Michael Smith handed him the 2022 final. His recent form sees six wins from his last ten and he is playing decent, consistent darts, so another good run is possible.

Damon Heta 

His win rate in 2025 is 69% and he has won six of his last ten matches but not with any great consistency. Heta is very much in the Noppert mould. He has now lost eight Major quarter finals and one semi-final. He reached the semi-final here last year, and the quarter final in 2022, so this is his most productive Major. However, I would like to see his game in better shape before backing him at 41.00.

Nathan Aspinall 

Another former champion, but his form is not good enough. His 2025 win rate is just 42% and he has lost five of his last ten matches. He has hit three ton plus averages in those ten, but also three sub 90’s.

The remaining players in the top 32, those that enter at the fourth round stage, really do not inspire in terms of their form. That said, Dimitri van den Bergh won this last year and his form going into the event was just five wins from his last ten matches, but he had reached the semi-final at the Masters shortly before the UK Open.

2025 UK Open Darts – Interesting Outsiders

Jermaine Wattimena 

Much improved through 2024 and his win rate in 2025 is 70%. He is getting stuck at the quarter final stage a lot, reaching a World Series QF and two Players Championship QF’s. He is playing with a good deal of consistency and could have a good run. Made the final of the European Championship last October, and the quarter final of the Grand Slam, so his TV form has picked up.

Cameron Menzies 

With a 2025 win rate of 80%, Menzies has to be on the radar. He has only played fifteen matches as he didn’t play in PC1 or PC2. Runner up to Ryan Searle in PC4 last week, Menzies needed deciding legs against De Sousa and Plaisier, averaging under 90 in both. A third of his fifteen matches this year have seen sub 90 averages, which is a worry.

Wessell Nijman 

Has won 72% of his matches in 2025 and he has played some great stuff. He has won seven of his last ten matches and hit four ton plus averages. However, he is a best priced 29.00 and there is little value in those odds for a player who is still learning the ropes at this level, and who enters in the third round.

Alan Soutar 

His win rate is just 56% in 2025, but he has been playing good darts, consistently. He lost five of his last ten matches but lost three in deciding legs and the other two 4-6.

In those last ten matches he hit three ton plus averages and a low of 94.99. That is impressive. If he can just convert those 5-6 results into 6-5 wins, suddenly he can be competing at the sharp end.

He is just a bit off on the outer ring, the last bit of the jigsaw. Soots has been hitting a lot of 180s and he is going to be a dangerous opponent. A very dark horse? Maybe, if he gets good draws.

Conor Scutt 

One of the players to follow in the 2025? Probably. There is no doubting his ability but so far, his consistency is still not quite there. He did reach the quarter finals of the Players Championship, at the same venue, late last year, and if he can string a run of good performances together, he may go deep.

However, his win rate in 2025 is just 53% and there are just a few too many flat performances, but like Soutar, with a kindly set of draws, things may fall his way.

Dom Taylor 

Having received a ban for a positive drugs test late last year, Taylor was suspended from pro darts, missing the Players Championship finals and the World Championship. He was banned for just one month after his DRA hearing, as it was ‘not a performance enhancing drug’ and was consumed out of competition.

Taylor elected not to play at the World Masters but returned to action in PC1. He reached the semi-final of PC4 last week. He has won 60% of his sixteen matches in 2025 and hit six ton plus averages in his last ten matches. Smoking!

2025 UK Open Darts Selections

With this tournament offering up e/w terms for the first four finishers, and the fact that the random draws can open the tournament up, we can entertain some bigger priced outsiders.

You can and do get players coming from outside the top 32 players, making it all the way to the final four. Last year Ricky Evans was ranked 46th on the OOM and while he started at the third round stage, he reached the semi-finals, losing 2-11 to Luke Humphries.

In 2023 we had the 62nd on the OOM, Adam Gawlas, making the semi-finals. There he lost to 41st ranked Andrew Gilding, and Gilding then went on to win the title. Both entered at the 3rd round stage.

2022 saw Keane Barry make the semi-finals, despite only being ranked 66th and entering in the second round. That year also saw 37th ranked William O’Connor making the semi-finals.

Luke Humphries made his first Major final appearance in this tournament in 2021, when it was played behind closed doors in Milton Keynes. He was only ranked 41st in those days. 2020 saw the four semi-finalists all ranked in the top 17. The 2019 winner, Nathan Aspinall was the 34th ranked player and he entered in the third round.

Big Names

There are plenty of examples of less fancied, bigger priced players having runs to the semi-finals, and even going on to win the title. However the big names are usually up there as well. The last four years have seen Humphries in two finals, MVG in one, Michael Smith another. James Wade won in 2021 and Noppert and Van den Bergh were hardly unknowns when they lifted the trophy.

I will mix my selections, picking a couple of the more fancied players, and some longer priced outsiders who have caught my eye recently, and who might just have a good run.

1 point e/w Gerwyn Price to win the 2025 UK Open Darts @ 15.00 with Ladbrokes

A happy and enthusiastic Price is a different beast and he looks close to his top form.

Picking my second ‘big gun’ was not easy. There are a number of players in good form who make plenty of appeal. Chris Dobey is one, Ryan Searle another, but I will go for a player who has won multiple Majors and knows how to get the job done.

1 point e/w Rob Cross to win the 2025 UK Open Darts @ 26.00 generally available

Smaller stakes for the outsiders.

0.5 point e/w Conor Scutt to win the 2025 UK Open Darts @ 81.00 generally available

0.25 e/w Jermaine Wattimena to win the 2025 UK Open Darts @ 81.00 generally available

0.25 e/w Alan Soutar to win the 2025 UK Open Darts @ 251.00 generally available

-JamesPunt