UK OPEN KEEPING GRASSROOT DARTS ALIVE

By Aaron Nijjar 

THE UK OPEN continues to keep grass-roots darts alive.  

‘The Fa Cup of Darts’ remains a bastion of the game’s origins: a chaotic, unseeded, open-draw tournament where anyone can challenge the players in the PDC top 16 Order of Merit.  

158 players compete across three grueling days, it’s the only PDC event that still fully embraces it’s barroom roots, mixing amateurs with seasoned professionals.  

While the main stage hosts stars like World No.1 Luke Humphries and World champion Luke Littler, the heart of the tournament beats upstairs in a small room where six dartboards stand side by side.  

There are no grand walk-ons, no MCs whipping up the crowd—just the raw purity of competitive darts, played feet away from an audience that truly understands the game. 

Nathan Aspinall was playing Premier League in front of 5,000 people on Thursday night. Now he was on Board Five in front of about 75, some of them so close they can touch him. 

Two-time major champion Aspinall told The Guardian: “It’s carnage, I’ve got Ross Smith two yards to my right, arguing with José de Sousa because he’s got change in his pocket. 

“I’ve got Willie O’Connor jumping around like an absolute nutter on my left. But that’s the beauty of the UK Open. This is where I started, and I’ll never disrespect it.” 

Players Championship winner Cameron Menzies revealed his love for the event at Butlins, Minehead.  

He said: “It’s the best tournament of the year for the proper fans. Premier League fans go for a drink. Here, everyone’s here for a certain player.” 

For players like Adam Lipscombe, the UK Open is a proving ground. The world No. 121, a groundworker from Portsmouth, wasn’t even supposed to be here. 

“I’m sweating my f******* beans off here,” Lipscombe, gasps after winning his third game of a raucous afternoon.  

In January he was driving home from Q-School, having missed out on a PDC tour card.  

‘Baby Boy’ arrived to a phone call informing him that someone had dropped out and he was back in. He returned to Milton Keynes, won his card and changed his life forever. 

Lipscombe beat former top-10 player Ian White to reach the fourth round of the UK Open. 

He said: “It’s mental, you’ve got to pinch yourself a little bit. Now I’ve just got to keep plodding.” 

For a tournament known for its shocks and upsets – Andrew Gilding winning in 2023 was one of the sport’s most heartwarming moments.  

This year’s edition followed with Beau Greaves and Jurjen van der Velde, the only non-Tour Card holders to make the last 64.  

But the sport has changed ruthlessly, even in the nine years since Rob Cross turned up in Minehead as an unknown pub qualifier and left it as one of the rising stars of the game.  

PDC Chief executive Matt Porter believes with the amount of money pouring into the sport, the shift towards full professionalisation feels more like an inevitability than a negotiation. 

He said: “The depth is so much greater than it was 10-15 years ago. The chance for a genuine pub amateur to come through is less than it was. 

“We want to get to a point where even if you’re No 128 in the world, you can still earn a living exclusively from darts. 

“At the moment, the number’s somewhere around 80. But we will get there.”  

Image by Kieran Cleeves