Darts UK Open 2022: Five underdogs to watch out for at PDC’s latest televised major

The UK Open is on this weekend as the latest televised major from the Professional Darts Corporation returns to the Butlin’s resort in Minehad.

The competition is the third of the big name trophies to be won in 2022 following the World Championships in January and Masters in February.

Darts fans have had plenty of chances to see the top seeds compete over the past few weeks in the Premier League and the aforementioned Masters, but this will be the first time since the Worlds that players outside of the top spots in the Order of Merit have returned to TV screens.

The UK Open has earned the nicknamed the “FA Cup of Darts” by many due to the massive field of competitors taking part which surpasses even that of the World Championships.

In total, 160 competitors will take part in the three day event which is a straight knockout tournament.

The PDC’s 128 Tour Card holders will be joined by the top four players from each of the four 2021 UK & European Challenge and Development Tour Orders of Merit and by the winners of 16 Amateur Qualification events.

Although the top seeds have a staggered entry, with the likes of Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright not entering till the fourth round, there will still be plenty of opportunities for upsets in the event.

With that in mind, here are five players (all with long odds) taking part at the UK Open to keep an eye out for:

Callan Rydz (tournament odds = 66/1)

Rydz took the World Championships by storm in December and January as the 23-year old conceded just one set in four matches on his way to the quarter-finals.

The young Geordie was consistently excellent across all of his games, maintaining a tournament three dart average of 97.32.

He eliminated more favoured opponents in Brendan Dolan and Nathan Aspinall before exiting in a thrilling 5-4 defeat to eventual winner and world number two Peter Wright.

If Rydz shows anything close to the form he hit at the Ally Pally then expect him to go deep in the UK Open bracket.

As one of the top 32 players in the Order of Merit (30), he receives a bye all the way to the fourth round and 66/1 look like huge odds for a player who has shown he can mix it with the very best.

Chris Dobey (tournament odds = 66/1)

The man known as “Hollywood” has been part of the PDC circuit since 2015 and is currently ranked 32nd in the Order of Merit, meaning he is the lowest ranked player to receive a bye to the fourth round of the UK Open.

The 31-year old has a habit of reaching the latter stages of major events, making it to the semi-finals in the Players Championship finals and World Grand Prix in 2019.

He has reached the Last 16 of the UK Open in the past two years and was eliminated by darting heavyweights Gerwyn Price in 2021 and Jonny Clayton in 2020.

Dobey will be looking to go even further this year and make a serious push towards the latter stages in his hunt for a first televised major final.

Alan Soutar (tournament odds = 150/1)

The firefighter from Arbroath was another newcomer who made a big impact at the World Championships as he knocked out Mensur Suljovic and Jose de Sousa on his route to the Last 16.

He was eventually eliminated by Callan Rydz but gave a fantastic account of himself with the Ally Pally crowd cheering firmly against the Scotsman throughout his run.

He actually made his PDC televised major debut at last year’s UK Open and was also impressive there as he started off by knocking out darts legend Raymond van Barneveld in the second round.

He went on to see off former BDO World Champions Jelle Klassen and Stephen Bunting as well as capable Dutchman Ron Meulenkamp in a run that took him all the way to the Last 16 before losing to then world number seven Dave Chisnall.

Willie Borland (tournament odds = 400/1)

Borland was responsible for one of the biggest roof raising moments at the Ally Pally in December when he hit a nine dart finish to win his first round match with Bradley Brooks.

The finish to the match overshadowed how excellent a contest it was from both players with Borland ending on a three dart average of 94.8.

The 25-year old couldn’t build any momentum after that and came up against a difficult second round opponent in the in-form Ryan Searle who dispatched him with a 3-0 win.

However, the young Scot showed that he was capable of both top quality darts and magical moments and maybe lightning could strike twice as he takes to the stage in Minehead this weekend.

He has a chance to take a major scalp when he enters in round three against five time world champion Raymond van Barneveld.

Glen Durrant (tournament odds = 500/1)

A three time Lakeside champion of the world and winner of the 2020 Premier League, Durrant burst onto the PDC circuit when he made the move over in 2019.

However, since winning the Premier League his form has nosedived and his best performance at a televised major since was reaching the Last 16 of last year’s UK Open.

At odds of 500/1 he finds himself similarly priced to players with far less pedigree who are taking part this year.

Despite under performing for the best part of two years, he has managed to retain his spot in the top 32 of the Order of Merit so will receive a bye to the fourth round.

He is obviously a player with tremendous quality who is perhaps just lacking in confidence so a favourable draw could help him build some much needed momentum.

*All odds correct at time of publication (12:00, March 3rd 2022)

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