2022 Cazoo UK Open Preview

The multi-board tournament, taking place from March 4-6, sees PDC Tour Card Holders joined by players from the Challenge Tour, Development Tour and Rileys Amateur Qualifiers in competing for the £100,000 title.

The opening day will see all 158 players in action, with the first four rounds taking place across eight stages.

A busy opening session on Friday at the unique multi-board event will see the first three rounds take place from 1100 GMT.

The first round comprises Tour Card Holders ranked 97-126 along with players from the 2021 Challenge and Development Tours and 16 Rileys Amateur Qualifiers.

The first round winners will be joined by Tour Card Holders ranked 65-96 in round two, with the 32 second round winners joined by Tour Card Holders ranked 33-64 in round three.

The world's top 32 enter the event in Friday evening's fourth round, including reigning champion Wade, world number one Gerwyn Price and former UK Open champions Peter. Wright, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and Nathan Aspinall.

Last year's tournament - held behind closed doors in Milton Keynes - saw Wade join Phil Taylor as just the second player in PDC history to win TV titles across three decades, defeating Luke Humphries 11-5 in the final.

Almost 13 years on from his first UK Open title in 2008, Wade completed the hat-trick a decade after his second to underline his longevity in the sport's elite echelon.

"Winning the UK Open last year proved I can still do it," said Wade. "Everyone else was probably more shocked than me.

"I’ve been around for such a long time and I’ve beaten so many players in hard games and the crowd has been against me, I still find it quite a surprise when people are shocked when I do win something.

"I’m in top form and won a few things. People also forget the amount of finals I’ve been in, that kind of frustrates me a little bit.

"I'm looking forward to this weekend, hopefully I can give a good defence of my title and we'll see what happens."

Two-time UK Open champion Raymond van Barneveld will begin his campaign in round three against William Borland, who famously hit a match-winning nine-dart finish at the 2021/22 World Darts Championship.

Scottish star Borland is out to rock the darts world again by making it an early exit for Dutch legend Van Barneveld.

"I’m convinced that the UK Open can be a kickstart to the year for me and better form and big things to happen again," said Borland.

"The nine-darter was a great thing to do at the Worlds, but I’ve not lost focus at all.

"I’m looking forward to the game but Raymond is a really hard opponent. I’ve been practising well and just want to get the win and take it from there.

“I’m not too sure if the pressure will be on him. We will both be up for the game.

"It will be down to who can hit the doubles first and hopefully that will be myself and I can get over the line."

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.

The action continues on Saturday March 5 with the fifth and sixth rounds across two sessions, before Sunday's action is played out on the Main Stage.

Players will compete for a £100,000 top prize, with a total prize fund of £450,000 on offer being paid down to the last 96.