Josh Rock to face Luke Woodhouse in the opening session of the UK Open
World Youth Champion Rock will take on world number 48 Woodhouse in one of the stand-out ties confirmed for the festival of darts, which will take place at Butlin's Minehead Resort from March 3-5. The third round clash is one of nine matches scheduled to take place on the Main Stage in Friday afternoon's action-packed opening session. The unique multi-board tournament will see PDC Tour Card Holders competing across three days alongside Rileys Amateur Qualifiers and top players from the 2022 PDC Winmau Challenge Tour and Development Tour Orders of Merit. The 158-player field will see Tour Card Holders enter across the first four rounds, based on PDC Order of Merit position following the 2023 Interwetten Baltic Sea Darts Open. The opening three rounds will take place in a bumper afternoon session on Friday March 3, before the world's top 32 enter the fray at the fourth round stage in the evening session. The first round will see Tour Card Holders ranked from 97-126 joined by 16 Rileys Amateur Qualifiers, and 16 players from the 2022 Challenge Tour and Development Tour. 2016 semi-finalist Jelle Klaasen heads up the Main Stage action as he takes on Josh Payne, while 2018 semi-finalist Robert Owen faces Dutch youngster Gian van Veen on Stage Two. Tour Card Holders ranked 65-96 will enter in round two, as Players Championship event winner Danny Jansen faces former World Youth Champion Bradley Brooks on the Main Stage. Players ranked from 33-64 join the tournament in round three, with 2014 champion Adrian Lewis to play Joe Murnan and World Cup winner Simon Whitlock also amongst the stars entering at that stage. The sport's biggest names then begin their title bids in round four, including reigning champion Danny Noppert and World Champion Michael Smith, the runner-up 12 months ago. Former champions Peter Wright, Michael van Gerwen, James Wade, Nathan Aspinall, Gary Anderson and Raymond van Barneveld will also enter the event at the fourth round stage. At the conclusion of the third round, an open draw will be made live on the Main Stage for the fourth round, with further draws to be made following each subsequent round.
2023 Cazoo UK Open prize money breakdown
Winner: £110,000
Runner-up: £50,000
Semi-finalists: £30,000
Quarter-finalists: £15,000
Last 16: £10,000
Last 32: £5,000
Last 64: £2,500
Last 96: £1,500
Last 128: £1,000
Total: £600,000
For the first time in UK Open history, every match of the 2023 tournament will be broadcast live. Main Stage matches across all three days will be broadcast live on ITV4 for UK viewers, through the PDC's international broadcast partners, including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV for Rest of the World Subscribers. Stage Two action on Friday and Saturday will be streamed exclusively for all PDCTV Subscribers worldwide, with commentary from Dan McCarthy and Paul Nicholson. In addition, matches from Stages Three to Eight will be broadcast live on PDCTV on Friday and Saturday, meaning that for the first time fans will be able to watch all matches from the event. Players will compete for a £110,000 top prize, with a total prize fund of £600,000 on offer being paid down to the last 128. Tour Card Holders Christian Perez and Corey Cadby will not compete in Minehead, therefore two players will receive a first round bye. Former semi-finalist David Pallett also chose not to take up his invitation from the 2022 Winmau Challenge Tour Order of Merit, with Germany's Lukas Wenig taking that place in the field.
The article Josh Rock to face Luke Woodhouse in the opening session of the UK Open appeared first on Planetsport.com.