The 2021 Ladbrokes UK Open will be staged behind closed doors at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes from March 5-7.
The annual festival of darts is usually held at the Butlin’s Minehead Resort in Somerset, with eight stages in action during the early rounds of the three-day tournament.
Due to the ongoing situation, the tournament would not be able to be staged with a crowd in Minehead, but will now be staged on the planned dates in Milton Keynes.
Fans who had booked a Weekend Break Packages will have the option to move their booking to the 2022 Ladbrokes UK Open or to a different Butlin’s break, or to obtain a refund.
Fans with a booking are being contacted by Butlin’s by email. However, should fans have a query, they can contact Butlin’s via this link.
As a result of the current UK lockdown, it will not be possible to stage amateur qualifying events through Rileys Sports Bars as per previous years.
As such, the 128 PDC Tour Card Holders will be joined by 32 additional qualifiers from the following criteria (selected in the order below):
* Top 8 non-qualified players from 2020 Development Tour OOM who remain PDPA Associate Members in 2021
* Top 8 non-qualified players from 2020 Challenge Tour OOM who remain PDPA Associate Members in 2021
* Top 8 non-qualified players from 2021 UK Qualifying School Final Stage Order of Merit
* Top 8 non-qualified players from 2021 European Qualifying School Final Stage Order of Merit
“We share the disappointment of players and fans that the 2021 Ladbrokes UK Open will not be able to be staged in its popular home at the Butlin’s Minehead Resort in front of a live crowd this March,” said PDC chief executive Matt Porter.
“The UK Open forms an important part of the PDC calendar and it is appropriate that this retains it place in March this year.”
“We’re pleased to be able to keep the spirit of the UK Open alive by incorporating amateur players, even though we are unfortunately not able to stage qualifying events with Rileys this year due to the current circumstances.”
“As always we’ll be playing across eight stages simultaneously on the opening day, and I’m sure that the excitement and drama will remain for everyone watching the coverage around the world throughout the tournament.”
2021 Ladbrokes UK Open
Friday March 5
Afternoon Session (1200 GMT)
First Round
Second Round
Third Round
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Fourth Round
Saturday March 6
Afternoon Session (1245 GMT)
Fifth Round
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Sixth Round
Sunday March 7
Afternoon Session (1245 GMT)
Quarter-Finals
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Semi-Finals
Final
