| 2018 Coral UK Open | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament information | |||
| Dates | 2–4 March 2018 | ||
| Venue | Butlin's Resort | ||
| Location | Minehead | ||
| Country |  England | ||
| Organization(s) | PDC | ||
| Format | Legs Final – best of 21 | ||
| Prize fund | £350,000 | ||
| Winner's share | £70,000 | ||
| High checkout | 170 Michael Rasztovits Daryl GurneySteve West | ||
| Champion(s) | |||
 Gary Anderson | |||
| |||
The2018CoralUK Open was adarts tournament staged by theProfessional Darts Corporation. It was the sixteenth year of the tournament where, following numerous regional qualifying heats throughout Britain, players competed in a single elimination tournament to be crowned champion. The tournament was held for the fifth time at theButlin's Resort inMinehead,England, between 2–4 March 2018, and has the nickname, "the FA Cup of darts" as a random draw was staged after each round until the final.
Peter Wright was the defending champion after defeatingGerwyn Price 11–6 in the2017 final,[1] but he lost in the third round toNathan Rafferty.
Gary Anderson became the UK Open champion for the first time, defeatingCorey Cadby (who was making his debut in the event) 11–7 in the final.
Michael van Gerwen's defeat toJeffrey de Zwaan in the third round was the first time van Gerwen had lost a live match onITV since the2014 Players Championship Finals. Van Gerwen was unbeaten for 77 live matches (including the two live World Series events) on the channel during that period.
The tournament was severely affected by the extreme weather conditions caused byStorm Emma which had forced the complete cancellation of round five of the2018 Premier League Darts that had been due to be held inExeter the evening before the tournament started. Eleven players who were due to play in the first, second and third rounds withdrew from the competition, and on 2 March, the unprecedented decision was taken byButlin's to not allow any fans apart from the players relatives, guests and friends into the venue, resulting in the whole tournament being played behind closed doors.
The tournament was still televised live onITV4, but the Butlin's Skyline Pavilion Arena was unable to be used for the allocated Main Stage TV matches due to heavy snow and ice, so these matches were reallocated to the secondary Red's Bar stage.[2]
There were six qualifying events staged in February 2018 to determine the UK Open Order of Merit Table.[3] The tournament winners were:
| No. | Date | Venue | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Friday 2 February | Robin Park Tennis Centre,Wigan |  Michael van Gerwen | 6 – 3 | Michael Smith | [4] |
| 2 | Saturday 3 February | Michael van Gerwen | 6 – 3 | Darren Webster | [5] | |
| 3 | Sunday 4 February | Michael Smith | 6 – 0 | Zoran Lerchbacher | [6] | |
| 4 | Friday 9 February | Gary Anderson | 6 – 2 | Jeffrey de Zwaan | [7] | |
| 5 | Saturday 10 February |  Corey Cadby | 6 – 4 | Rob Cross | [8] | |
| 6 | Sunday 11 February |  Krzysztof Ratajski | 6 – 4 | Daryl Gurney | [9] |
The tournament featured 128 players. The results of the six qualifiers shown above were collated into the UK Open Order Of Merit. The top 32 players in the Order of Merit received byes into the third round of the UK Open. Players ranked 33–64 received byes to the second round, while Players ranked 65–96 entered the main tournament in the first round. A further 32 players qualified via regional qualifying tournaments.
Michael van GerwenMichael SmithKrzysztof RatajskiCorey CadbyRob CrossGary AndersonPeter WrightDaryl Gurney
Kim HuybrechtsJeffrey de ZwaanDarren WebsterMervyn KingJohn HendersonSteve BeatonAdrian LewisSteve West
Jamie LewisDavid PallettJames WadeJustin PipeJelle KlaasenMatthew EdgarJonny ClaytonJamie HughesSimon StevensonSimon WhitlockDave PrinsRobert ThorntonIan White
Martin SchindlerKyle AndersonGerwyn PriceJames WilsonRobert OwenJason LoweJoe CullenNathan AspinallKeegan BrownAlan NorrisDanny NoppertNathan RaffertyVincent van der VoortDavid EvansRichard North Vincent KamphuisJermaine WattimenaStephen BuntingStuart Kellett
José JusticiaGabriel ClemensWayne JonesMike NortonCarl WilkinsonAndrew GildingGeert NentjesToni AlcinasDave ChisnallRaymond van BarneveldChris DobeyJames RichardsonTed EvettsMichael RasztovitsRon MeulenkampKirk ShepherdRichie BurnettRicky EvansMark Walsh
Cody Harris
Terry Jenkins Chris Quantock Michael BarnardBradley BrooksDirk van DuijvenbodeRyan MeikleDimitri Van den BerghPaul NicholsonLuke HumphriesCristo ReyesRené EidamsLee EvansRyan HarringtonRobert RickwoodMickey MansellAndy JenkinsBenito van de Pas Darren Johnson
John Part
Prakash JiwaAdam HuntGeorge Killington** René Berndt dropped out of the tournament because of health reasons.
32 amateur players qualified from 28 Rileys Sports Bar qualifiers held across the UK between 20 January and 18 February.[10]
Michael Burgoine (VIC, 21 January) Joe Davis (VIC, 21 January) Andrew Johnson (CHO, 27 January)Jason Mold (NOR, 27 January)Tony Mitchell (NOT, 27 January)Ian Jopling (TWI, 27 January) Mark Craddock (WOL, 27 January) Liam Kelly (WOL, 27 January) Benjamin McClelland (LEI, 28 January)Paul Hogan (SBE, 28 January)David Airey (CHE, 3 February)Alex Roy (HAR, 3 February)Andy Hamilton (WOR, 3 February)Harry Ward (COV, 4 February) Simon Tate (GRE, 4 February) Daniel Lee (SOL, 4 February)Martin Atkins (CHO, 10 February)Dan Read (TWI, 11 February) Martin Biggs (COV, 17 February)Paul Whitworth (LIV, 17 February) Darren Brown (NOR, 17 February)Andy Hibbert (NOT, 17 February)Darryl Pilgrim (VIC, 18 February) John Scott (VIC, 18 February) Andreas Hajimena (SBE, 18 February)John Morris (WOL, 18 February) Andrew Pullen (WOL, 18 February)* Due toStorm Emma, multiple players pulled out of the tournament.[11][12]
The prize fund stayed the same as last year, £350,000.
| Stage(no. of players) | Prize money (Total: £350,000) | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | (1) | £70,000 |
| Runner-up | (1) | £35,000 |
| Semi-finalists | (2) | £17,500 |
| Quarter-finalists | (4) | £11,500 |
| Last 16(fifth round) | (8) | £6,500 |
| Last 32(fourth round) | (16) | £3,500 |
| Last 64(third round) | (32) | £1,750 |
| Last 96(second round) | (32) | n/a |
| Last 128(first round) | (32) | n/a |
(Note: Due to extreme weather all matches in the tournament were played behind closed doors)
| Player | Score | Player | Player | Score | Player | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| w/o | Michael Burgoine (Q) | Darryl Pilgrim (Q)86.29 | 6–2 | Ian Jopling (Q)70.81 | |
| René Eidams77.58 | 6–4 | Andrew Johnson (Q)74.98 | Benjamin McClelland (Q)68.35 | 4–6 | David Airey (Q)78.30 | |
| Michael Barnard | w/o | | | w/o | Martin Biggs (Q) | |
| Dimitri Van den Bergh87.70 | 3–6 | Lee Evans88.62 | Richie Burnett86.03 | 5–6 | Ryan Harrington83.52 | |
| Dan Read (Q)73.72 | 5–6 | Joe Davis (Q)77.26 | Ricky Evans93.40 | 6–1 | Andreas Hajimena (Q)72.39 | |
| Chris Quantock72.52 | 4–6 | Bradley Brooks78.67 | Dirk van Duijvenbode | w/o | | |
| Terry Jenkins88.50 | 5–6 | Paul Nicholson83.93 | Cody Harris94.19 | 6–1 | Tony Mitchell (Q)88.04 | |
| Kirk Shepherd85.21 | 6–4 | Adam Hunt82.10 | | w/o | Mark Craddock (Q) | |
| Andrew Pullen (Q) | w/o | | | w/o | Andy Hamilton (Q) | |
| Michael Rasztovits82.33 | 6–3 | Simon Tate (Q)78.62 | Martin Atkins (Q)70.94 | 3–6 | Paul Whitworth (Q)81.20 | |
| Luke Humphries94.93 | 6–0 | Liam Kelly (Q)63.55 | Paul Hogan (Q)80.18 | 6–5 | Darren Brown (Q)92.88 | |
| Mark Walsh64.85 | 2–6 | Alex Roy (Q)78.32 | Cristo Reyes92.80 | 5–6 | Benito van de Pas87.02 | |
| w/o | Robert Rickwood | Ron Meulenkamp79.56 | 6–4 | Andy Hibbert (Q)73.75 | |
| Harry Ward (Q)86.71 | 6–0 | Daniel Lee (Q)71.59 | Andy Jenkins82.85 | 4–6 | George Killington84.59 | |
| John Part82.24 | 6–2 | John Morris (Q)72.11 | Prakash Jiwa75.08 | 5–6 | Jason Mold (Q)78.47 | |
| Ryan Meikle74.13 | 6–5 | Mickey Mansell75.82 | Darren Johnson78.57 | 4–6 | John Scott (Q)82.48 |
** René Berndt withdrew from the tournament because of health reasons.
| Player | Score | Player | Player | Score | Player | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan Rafferty94.56 | 6–3 | Jason Mold (Q)86.93 | Gerwyn Price93.40 | 6–2 | James Wilson89.44 | |
| Jermaine Wattimena79.81 | 6–0 | Andy Hamilton (Q)69.22 | | w/o | Michael Rasztovits | |
| Vincent van der Voort81.29 | 6–3 | Martin Biggs (Q)81.99 | Toni Alcinas85.38 | 4–6 | Alex Roy (Q)87.91 | |
| Mike Norton90.13 | 5–6 | Raymond van Barneveld94.94 | Ryan Meikle80.05 | 6–4 | Mark Craddock (Q)73.79 | |
| Richard North78.85 | 5–6 | Paul Nicholson84.22 | Keegan Brown83.83 | 6–3 | George Killington77.92 | |
| Chris Dobey97.67 | 6–5 | Lee Evans91.48 | Stephen Bunting82.50 | 6–2 | Bradley Brooks73.28 | |
| Dave Chisnall96.05 | 6–2 | René Eidams86.95 | Geert Nentjes79.31 | 4–6 | Darryl Pilgrim (Q)86.40 | |
| Stuart Kellett78.76 | 1–6 | David Airey (Q)88.51 | Ted Evetts86.55 | 1–6 | Harry Ward (Q)90.50 | |
| Danny Noppert89.89 | 3–6 | Ryan Harrington87.04 | Ron Meulenkamp87.55 | 6–1 | Joe Davis (Q)73.30 | |
| Jason Lowe82.53 | 6–4 | John Scott (Q)77.72 | Cody Harris91.55 | 2–6 | Michael Barnard86.04 | |
| Robert Owen87.04 | 6–4 | Michael Burgoine (Q)83.94 | David Evans81.26 | 6–4 | Benito van de Pas84.73 | |
| Alan Norris88.50 | 4–6 | Dirk van Duijvenbode92.80 | Joe Cullen90.25 | 6–2 | José Justicia71.93 | |
| w/o | Paul Hogan (Q) | Nathan Aspinall91.81 | 6–3 | Andrew Pullen (Q)87.50 | |
| Vincent Kamphuis86.52 | 3–6 | Kirk Shepherd87.94 | Carl Wilkinson85.72 | 2–6 | Ricky Evans90.65 | |
| James Richardson66.34 | 0–6 | Robert Rickwood83.50 | John Part71.57 | 6–0 | Paul Whitworth (Q)53.45 | |
| Wayne Jones79.29 | 3–6 | Luke Humphries81.41 | Gabriel Clemens88.41 | 6–0 | Andrew Gilding83.70 |
* Due to extreme weather, multiple players pulled out of the tournament.
* Lerchbacher was the only third-round qualifier to withdraw from the tournament due to the weather conditions, so Hughes received a bye to the fourth round.
| Player | Score | Player | Player | Score | Player | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeffrey de Zwaan100.12 | 8–10 | Paul Hogan (Q)97.61 | Rob Cross98.29 | 10–7 | Kyle Anderson95.11 | |
| Ron Meulenkamp86.55 | 9–10 | John Part87.41 | Robert Owen96.61 | 10–9 | Nathan Rafferty96.75 | |
| Jason Lowe92.12 | 5–10 | Chris Dobey95.72 | Krzysztof Ratajski92.95 | 10–5 | Keegan Brown95.66 | |
| Gerwyn Price97.95 | 10–6 | Dirk van Duijvenbode94.68 | Steve West95.42 | 10–7 | Matthew Edgar87.61 | |
| Gary Anderson93.97 | 10–3 | Ricky Evans87.64 | Jermaine Wattimena89.32 | 10–8 | Stephen Bunting94.66 | |
| Mervyn King94.97 | 10–8 | Jonny Clayton89.89 | Corey Cadby97.20 | 10–7 | Martin Schindler92.06 | |
| Jamie Hughes95.84 | 8–10 | Ian White102.45 | Daryl Gurney89.33 | 5–10 | Kim Huybrechts94.45 | |
| Michael Smith90.30 | 10–4 | Ryan Meikle85.62 | David Pallett98.43 | 10–6 | James Wade94.23 |
| Player | Score | Player |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Smith93.99 | 9–10 | Steve West93.91 |
| Gary Anderson104.72 | 10–6 | Jermaine Wattimena97.27 |
| Corey Cadby98.79 | 10–7 | Chris Dobey96.23 |
| Mervyn King87.84 | 8–10 | John Part86.14 |
| Ian White92.24 | 7–10 | Robert Owen92.76 |
| Kim Huybrechts84.08 | 7–10 | David Pallett88.10 |
| Gerwyn Price101.45 | 10–9 | Paul Hogan (Q)96.18 |
| Krzysztof Ratajski92.63 | 3–10 | Rob Cross103.88 |
| Player | Score | Player |
|---|---|---|
| Steve West91.56 | 5–10 | David Pallett95.30 |
| Robert Owen98.94 | 10–3 | John Part80.72 |
| Corey Cadby99.32 | 10–6 | Gerwyn Price94.25 |
| Rob Cross95.53 | 5–10 | Gary Anderson98.31 |
| Semi-finals (best of 21 legs) | Final (best of 21 legs) | ||||||||
| Gary Anderson95.31 | 11 | ||||||||
| David Pallett87.40 | 7 | ||||||||
| Gary Anderson95.71 | 11 | ||||||||
| Corey Cadby99.78 | 7 | ||||||||
| Robert Owen90.15 | 3 | ||||||||
| Corey Cadby99.90 | 11 | ||||||||