UK Open Darts 2026 Predictions: Eight names to win FA Cup of Darts

The next TV major is here and this is a really fun one in the form of the self-styled 'FA Cup of Darts', the UK Open, which features a brand new draw at the start of each round.

Of course, our resident darts tipster Sean Rafferty is on board and here are his UK Open Darts Betting Tips...

History, Location and Format

The 2026 UK Open is the 24th running of this PDC event and has been held every since since its launch in 2003.

The event is once again being held at Butlins, Minehead, which has hosted the UK Open since it's move from Bolton in 2014 and runs from Friday, March 6th to Sunday, March 8th. It will be aired on ITV4 and ITVX in the UK.

The 160 strong field features all 128 PDC Tour card holders players, as well as 32 qualifiers. The players seeding determines when they enter the tournament, with the top 32 in the world joining the competition in the fourth round.

There have been four multiple winners of the event, with Phil Taylor winning the title a record five times, Michael van Gerwen and James Wade (three) and Raymond van Barneveled (twice).

The defending champion is the World Champion and #1 in the world Luke Littler, who destroyed James Wade 11-2 in the 2025 final.

Prize Money

There is a prize fund of £750,000 on offer to the 160 participants, with £120,000 going to the winner.

3 units Luke Humphries to win @ 7/1

Humphries has already accomplished so much in the game of darts, but the UK Open is one of very few major titles that still evade him. He doesn’t necessarily have a bad record in the event though - given the unpredictability of the FA Cup style draw, his record is actually pretty decent. Luke’s reached two finals in 2021 and 2025, the latter he really should’ve won against Dimitri Van den Bergh.

Cool Hand has arguably been playing as well as anybody this year, a lack of titles to back it up can be the only reason behind his generous odds of 7/1. He’s still been involved in the business end of most big tournaments, with Luke Littler or Gian Van Veen being his nemesis on most occasions. Humphries arguably should have the World Masters, narrowly losing to Littler 6-5 in sets in the final. On top of this, he’s made the final of the European Championship, the Grand Slam and the World Grand Prix since October. He’s also picked up a Pro Tour title already this year, winning in brilliant fashion, averaging 100+ in six of his seven matches on route.

If he keeps putting himself in these positions, eventually he’s going to catch a break and come out on the winning side, we know he can get it done. I’m sure he’ll be desperate to tick this one off his list and go a step closer to completing the full list of majors, if Humphries can once again make the final, I think it could be third time lucky for him at the UK Open.

2 units Gian Van Veen to win @ 10/1

If we’re taking on Littler, then I’d like to have two big guns near the top of the market on my card, Van Veen looks to fit the bill better than Price and Van Gerwen this time. He plays only his fourth UK Open this weekend, but already looks to be taking steps towards looking like he could win this tournament in the next couple years. Gian made the Quarter Finals last year, only being stopped by the eventual champion Luke Littler. He made the Last 16 the year before and is improving all the time.

He fits the mould nicely in terms of what you’d look for in a player for the UK Open - very consistent, hardly ever drops below a 90 average (hasn’t averaged below 91 in any of his last 18 PDC matches), young and keeps himself healthy which will help him on the Saturday and Sunday, these are long days for the players and fatigue can potentially set in. His doubles are better than anybody else in the game, this is bound to set him in good stead through the event.

Similar to Humphries, it’s the finals that have been proving the problem for Gian, hopefully there isn’t too much doubt there for him, despite losing his last three finals at the World Championship, European Tour and World Series, as well as three nightly finals in the Premier League. Luke Littler is about the only player he’s struggled to get the better of in recent times, if he can avoid him in the draw then what a chance he has this week, at bulky looking odds of 10/1.

0.75 units James Wade each-way (1/4 - 4 places) @ 40/1

It was between Wade and Noppert for my third pick but I’ve decided to opt for the experienced and reliable Wadey. It’s impossible to ignore the record he has in the UK Open - he’s won the event three times, in 2008, 2011 and 2021, as well as making a further final last year. It’s easy to see why he’s always took such a liking to this tournament, being one of the most consistent performers on tour for so long, if you could put your money on someone averaging mid to high 90s, hitting 45% on their doubles, hitting combination checkouts at crucial times, Wadey is your man.

The Machine has shown some recent form too - he picked up just his second Pro Tour title since 2022 last month, showing his usual grittiness and excellent timing to come through closely run battles against the likes of Nathan Aspinall, Michael Van Gerwen and Joe Cullen. He’s seemed a little bit miffed when asked about being left out this year’s Premier League line-up, that’ll perhaps add a bit more fire to his belly and make him determined to prove a point by going on another deep run in Minehead. The 4 places on offer make him a great each way bet, as he so often reaches the business end of these majors.

0.5 units Luke Woodhouse each-way (1/4 - 4 places) @ 80/1

Woodhouse looks like one of the most likely candidates to push into the top 16 over the course of the next year or so, he’s definitely one of the most in-form players ranked 17-32 at the moment. He had a few encouraging runs on the European Tour and Pro Tour last year, reaching a final in each. He’s looking poised to do similar in a major tournament soon, having made the Last 16 of the World Championship, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam and World Masters all in the space of the last five months.

He’d be the first to admit he’s been his own worst enemy in the past, dropping the head too quickly when things haven’t been going his way and feeding encouragement to his opponents with some defeatist body language. However, that’s another area he’s definitely made a point of trying to improve, we’ve seen several impressive comebacks from him recently in matches he would have thrown the towel in in the past. He’s a lot tougher to beat as a result, he’s shown he can go toe-to-toe with almost anyone now, if he can avoid a horror draw then I see no reason as to why we can’t have another Luke in the mix come Sunday.

0.5 units Kevin Doets each-way (1/4 - 4 places) @ 100/1

Off the top of my head, I can’t ever recall backing Doets outright in a major tournament. It’s proved to be the right decision so far too, considering he’s never went further than the Last 16 in any of the majors. However, I’m finding it impossible to ignore him this time round, given the level of performance he’s consistently producing of late - Hawkeye has averaged 94+ in 13 of his last 18 matches, with wins over the likes of Danny Noppert, Wessel Nijman and Dirk Van Duijvenbode on the Pro Tour already this year.

He’ll be hoping he can transfer his floor form onto the big stage this week - he can take some encouragement from reaching the Last 16 of the recent World Championship, which included a dramatic win over Nathan Aspinall. You have to feel if he keeps up this level then a big run can only be round the corner, this is probably the best shout if he can get a favourable draw along the way. He faces Ricardo Pietreczko in the third round on Friday afternoon, a tricky match but one I’d expect him to dominate the scoring phase of and come out on top in. Definitely one to watch this week outside of the big names.

0.25 units Adam Gawlas each-way (1/4 - 4 places) @ 150/1

Gawlas is the first of three “outlandish” that I always like to take a few of in this unique event. Gawlas is one of the surprise names in recent years that went really deep into the event - the Czech reached the Semi Finals here in 2023, defeating the likes of Rob Cross and a young Luke Littler on that dream run.

After winning his tour card back at EU Q-School in January, it looks to have brought a bit of spark back into his game - I’ve just seen a few signs lately that Flawlas is returning to somewhere near his best form, reaching his first ever Pro Tour semi-final and notching up wins against the likes of Wessel Nijman, Mike De Decker, Dirk Van Duijvenbode and Luke Woodhouse this year. It’s fair to say not many will want to draw Adam due to his more methodical pace, if he can have a good Friday as he did in 2023 then he’s a dark horse to go deep in this.

0.25 units Sebastian Bialecki each-way (1/4 - 4 places) @ 300/1

I’ve been keeping a close eye on Bialecki in recent weeks, the young Pole has been performing at a very consistent and decent level. More importantly, he’s in a nice habit of winning matches - excluding the Development Tour, he’s won 20 of his 25 matches this year.

The Bolt has an impressive record at Minehead already for such a young player - he made the Quarter Finals in 2022 at only 18 years old, with runs to the 3rd and 4th round too. It’s a tricky Friday afternoon draw for Seb, who enters at the second round stage where he’ll face former Lakeside champion Christian Kist, before a match against Gabriel Clemens to try and reach the main draw. Given his recent form, you have to imagine he’s full of confidence and looks like some of the best value deeper in the market at 300/1.

0.25 units Adam Lipscombe each-way (1/4 - 4 places) @ 250/1

Last but not least, the likeable Adam Lipscombe. A player I feel is very much suited to the boisterous atmosphere around the outer boards at this event - he certainly took a liking to them last year, where he came through three matches on the Friday afternoon on his debut, including wins over Jelle Klaasen and Ian White, before losing in the Last 64.

Perhaps it’s just Minehead he loves, as his other notable run in a major last year came at the same venue in the Players Championship Finals - Baby Boy destroyed Cameron Menzies and Bradley Brooks before narrowly losing 10-9 to Daryl Gurney in a dramatic match, one he should have closed out but admitted nerves got the better of him, an experience I’m sure he’ll learn from. The Friday afternoon draw looks to have been good to him on paper - a second round match against Jack Todd or Carl Sneyd awaits, before a third round match against Nick Kenny who isn’t in the best form.

Although he may not post many eyecatching averages, Lipscombe isn’t afraid to win ugly. 250/1 for a player who’s beat Gerwyn Price twice in the space of the last month is far too good to ignore and completes my outright card nicely in what promises to be a memorable weekend in Minehead.

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