UK OPEN
Preview
Photo : Mike Glover / UK Darts
Known as the ‘ FA Cup of Darts ’, the UK Open has a history of throwing up shocks , even Phil Taylor doesn ’ t enjoy the same dominance in Bolton as he does in some of the other major tournaments , although he has won the event on four separate occasions .
He will be joined this time round by a number of former winners including Raymond van Barneveld , James Wade and defending champion Robert Thornton who will all be looking to claim their next PDC major .
The open draw however makes this tough for anyone and with the matches redrawn after each round and unseeded there is the potential for the top players to meet as early as the third round , leaving the door open for an outsider to make a run to the final and who knows maybe even win the event .
We look at the main contenders for the title and those that could produce a shock win by coming through on the blind side .
Phil Taylor
Taylor is a four time champion at Bolton , but over recent months he has lost some of his air of invincibility . The sixteen time World Champion may find that some of his early round opponents do not crumble around him as they have done in the past , but there can be no doubt that he is still the man to beat and it is with good reason that he heads into the tournament as 3 / 1 second favourite .
Photo : Mike Glover / UK Darts