Qualifying events are held at Greene King pubs across the UK - winners from each pub event progress to one of four Regional Finals, to be staged in their relevant area. Players who reach the final eight in the Regional Finals will qualify for the televised stages of the UK Open in Bolton.
In addition there are eight UK Open Regional Finals for the "professional" players. All events are open to all darts players on payment of an entry fee - which means that players from both the PDC and BDO are eligible to enter. Players who enter through the Greene King Qualifying Round are not eligible to play in the regional qualifying events and vice-versa.
The results of the eight qualifiers are then collated into an Order of Merit table (Winner £4000; Runner-up £2000; 3-4 £1000; 5-8 £500; 9-16 £250; 17-32 £100; 33-64 £50). The top 96 players in this Order of Merit join the 32 Greene King qualifiers at the televised stages in Bolton.
1st round
Players who are ranked between 65 and 96 in the UK Open Order of Merit join the 32 Greene King qualifiers in the first round of the UK Open.
2nd round
Players ranked 33 to 64 join the first round winners.
3rd round
Players ranked in the top 32 join the second round winners.
Famous quotes containing the word open:
“Rats!
They fought the dogs and killed the cats,
And bit the babies in the cradles,
And ate the cheeses out of the vats,
And licked the soup from the cooks’ own ladles,
Split open the kegs of salted sprats,
Made nests inside men’s Sunday hats,
And even spoiled the women’s chats
By drowning their speaking
With shrieking and squeaking
In fifty different sharps and flats.”
—Robert Browning (1812–1889)