PDC UK Open darts 2025: Outright preview and best bets

Darts heads to Minehead for its annual weekend of carnage, with the 2025 UK Open offering up the chance for no less than 160 players to put their name in lights.

To me, this always feels like the major for someone to either cause a seismic shock or enjoy a breakthrough success. And having a brief dig into the recent history of the tournament, the facts back that theory up. 

Let’s roll the clock back for the last eight renewals…

UK Open's recent history of shocks

2017 - Peter Wright’s first major win, beating Gerwyn Price who was also in his first ever major final

2018 - Australian Corey Cadby reaches the final having been a three-figure price, eventually losing to Gary Anderson.

2019 - Nathan Aspinall beats Rob Cross to lift the trophy in what was his first ever major final.

2020 - A rare year of normality as Michael van Gerwen conquers all, beating Price in the final

2021 - Veteran James Wade wins third UK Open a whole decade after his second success.

2022 - Unfancied Danny Noppert beats Michael Smith to lift first major title, with Smith left to wait a bit longer for his first major win.

2023 - Arguably the biggest shock of all as Andrew Gilding beats Michael van Gerwen to win his first major title.

2024 - Dimitri Van den Bergh wins first ever major in front of a crowd (second after the COVID World Matchplay), again going off a three-figure price.

Why favourites don't fare well at the UK Open

So, we’re all agreed then? This is the venue for winning your first TV major. 

But Luke Littler looks massive value at 4/1 I hear you cry? I’m sure plenty will say exactly that, and while I’m not trying to deter anyone from backing the Nuke, you do need to think about exactly why he’s that price.

First, and most importantly, the draw for every round is entirely random. Now, a price of 4/1 suggests he will be an average price of 1.31 for each of his six matches. It basically implies he may have to beat one of Price, Humphires or Van Gerwen at some point, plus five others.

But how can you be sure of that? There’s no bracket, and therefore, absolutely no reason why we won’t have something like a Littler vs Humphries clash in round four, over an unpredictable best of 11 legs. This kind of thing happens every single year at Minehead.

Then, add in the general chaos of this event. Multiple games on one day. Players raising their game for the big occasion. Uncertainty over when your next match will be. The list goes on.

Of course, if Littler is still standing come Sunday, you might be on a nice price at 4/1. But trust me, it is the right price.

That ‘luck of the draw’ element is a massive deterrent for me when it comes to the market leaders. So, for that reason, it pays to concentrate on slightly bigger prices at this stage and I’m following that clear trend of first-time PDC major winners. 

Betting analysis for the 2025 UK Open darts

UK Open 2025 contenders - Searle and Heta ready to strike

I want players who look ready and capable of winning a first PDC TV title – and there’s plenty of them. But two stand out above the rest for me.

Ryan Searle is someone who really should have a better record here. Minehead is his ‘local’ venue in relation to where PDC majors are hosted and yet, Heavy Metal has only made it as far as the sixth round at the UK Open once, back in 2022. He has had some back luck with that open draw, admittedly, having been KO’d early by Luke Humphries, Dimitri Van den Bergh and Chris Dobey in recent times. But last year’s painful 10-9 loss to Graham Usher in round four will have probably stung more than any of those.

Searle has sometimes given us a peak under the mask in his interviews, claiming last year that he does want to win a major title – just perhaps not as much as some of his peers. A lack of drive is something the 37-year-old freely admits to, though his talent is not in question. 

Earlier this month, he was victorious at Players Championship 4, sealing a PDC floor title for a sixth consecutive year – a truly remarkable achievement. But I found his winners interview particularly interesting.

He alluded to the fact he’s never won more than one Pro Tour event in the same season. He seemed determined to correct that – unusually so by his blase standards. He even said that he’s been practicing ‘hard’ since a painful World Championship loss to Ryan Joyce in December.

Practicing hard? Crikey. Is this the year we finally see Searle come good on his undoubted potential? It’s hard to know for sure – and some would argue there’s not all that much juice in his price – but his form coming into here is exceptional. 

Only Gerwyn Price can better his seasonal average in 2025 (98.96 across 18 matches) but unlike the Ice Man, Searle has not had the Premier League to sharpen his competitive level.

On the flip side, he should be feeling less drained than the constantly active market leaders. All that extra practice in recent weeks will have been geared towards Minehead and with quarter odds available each way, I think 30/1 about him triumphing and 7.5/1 about him making the final four is definitely worth a tickle.

Damon Heta has been knocking on the door for some time in terms of PDC majors and this feels like the perfect place for the ruthlessly consistent Aussie to enjoy his breakthrough success, just like Wright, Aspinall, Noppert and Gilding have done before him.

There are a lot of parallels to be drawn between Heta and Searle, but their determination level is not one of them. Though both are very laid-back, chilled and likeable characters, Heta has never hidden his goal to achieve as much as he possibly can in darts, having moved to the UK in 2019 with the sole purpose of excelling in the PDC. 

He upped sticks and left a decent life behind back home, which probably explains why the Heat seems to have a bit of extra fire in the belly when it comes to his progression.

There is no doubt in my mind that Heta is every inch a Premier League player in-waiting. He could quite feasibly have made this year’s line-up over, say, a Chris Dobey or Nathan Aspinall. I’d suggest all he needed was a slightly deeper run at the World Championships, similar to what the aforementioned pair achieved. 

Sadly, nine-dart heroics against Luke Woodhouse – a match he ultimately ended up losing – ended up being in vain, but they did offer up yet more evidence that his big-stage presence is growing.

Heta also has form here. He made his first major semi-final 12 months ago and looked to have his name on the trophy at one point, having beaten Simon Whitlock, Nathan Aspinall and Gian van Veen en route to a blockbuster quarter-final with Luke Littler, where he blitzed the Nuke 10-8 with a 107 average in what was arguably a career-best showing. 

HETA WINS A CLASSIC! 🇦🇺

Damon Heta is through to the semi-finals!

The Australian keeps his cool to defeat Luke Littler 10-8 in one of the best matches in UK Open history!

📺 https://t.co/D7iTWZMSbj#UKOpenDarts | QFs pic.twitter.com/eR8RULdj95

— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) March 3, 2024

Sadly for the Heat, he would lose the semi to eventual winner and his former housemate, Dimitri Van den Bergh, who it must be said appeared to benefit from unsettling his opponents in the latter rounds with some criminally long pauses in between throws.

Though Heta was bitterly disappointed after that loss, the positives were there for all to see and he really is a master of incremental gains, having posted career-best efforts in no less than five major TV events in 2024. 

He continued that trend at the Masters four weeks ago when making the quarter-finals, before bowing out to eventual champion Luke Humphries. No shame there.

I think Heta handles the UK Open’s unique challenge better than most and, though he’ll obviously need some luck to go his way like everyone else, the 45/1 on offer with four places available makes for another rock solid each-way bet.

UK Open 2025 dark horses - Wattimena and Scutt capable at huge prices

Scrolling further down the list, I can make a good case for backing both Jermaine Wattimena and Connor Scutt at 80/1 four places – a price you can ‘boost’ to 100/1 if you can find a Ladbrokes account that still utilises said promotion. 

Wattimena is quite simply in career-best form, carrying over the stunning levels which helped him reach the European Championship final last October into 2025 seamlessly. He’s been unlucky not to go deeper in all four of this term’s Pro Tour events, averaging an eye-catching 96 across a 14-match sample. 

His big-stage pedigree is growing by the tournament too, having followed up that European Championship run with a Grand Slam quarter-final, while I thought he caught the eye at Ally Pally in smashing Stefan Bellmont and James Wade without dropping a set, before losing 4-2 to a freakishly rejuvenated Peter Wright in round three. 

I like how confident he is playing against the elite now – a case in point being victories in both of his last two TV meetings with Luke Humphries. He’s a man nobody will want to draw and I can certainly get on board with the Dutchman at the prices.

Scutt, meanwhile, is another I’ve made no secret of my admiration for. 

He lost a cracker at Ally Pally against Heta in round two but that, combined with other results, proved enough for him to earn his tour card back through the Order of Merit rather than his Challenge Tour exploits, meaning the Sniper is well positioned to push on towards the top 32 this year with last year’s prize money retained.

He should be in that bracket on talent alone, undoubtedly. Though results haven’t been anything to shout about at the first four PC events, the numbers are still consistently excellent – a 97.13 average across his first six floor matches this season. 

I love Scutt’s attitude to the game, which seems to be the ideal blend of enjoying himself but also really wanting to win. It’s a dangerous mix for his opponents, for sure.

The other thing that sweetens his case here is an excellent record at Minehead. He’s had some really good runs both in the UK Open and at the Players Championship Finals – a trend that continued last November when he was a leg away from the PC semi-finals, losing 10-9 to Dirk van Duijvenbode. 

That was Scutt’s first defeat on the main stage in Minehead, so clearly he can deal with the occasion if he’s chucked in against one of the bigger names early on. He’s a very rounded performer, with the highest 180s-per-leg percentage this season but also an eye for a three-figure combination. 

He has bags of talent and is bound to do something at one of the big events this year. So, it’s a case of taking this price while you can for me. He’s a future 33/1 runner in majors, in my opinion.

UK Open 2025 longshots - Keep an eye on Taylor, Van Schie and Manby

The more ambitious among us may want to fling a few pennies towards some real outsiders and I’d probably single out Dom Taylor (150/1), Jimmy van Schie (500/1) and Charlie Manby (1000/1) as the most eye-catching in their respective price brackets.

Taylor’s career obviously hit a low point in November when he was removed from the PC Finals at the last minute, having failed a drugs test.

The Tower has served his time though and to be honest, given it was a recreational drug, I think it was a fair suspension that punished him without blighting what is a promising career.

He consistently posted strong averages on the floor last year and that has continued in 2025. He enjoyed a great run on the Pro Tour earlier this month where up until his last match, his average for the day was way north of 100. 

A big TV run does feel on the cards soon for Taylor and the 37.5/1 about him reaching the semis does seem tempting for a small tickle.

It’s not unheard of for 500/1 runners to go really deep at the UK Open and of the cluster of outsiders pitched here, it’s probably Jimmy van Schie who piques my interest most.

The Dutch ace, who has 11 WDF titles to his name, was strongly fancied to land a tour card in January but missed out on leg difference, meaning he’ll be plying his trade on the likes of the Challenge Tour, WDF and Modus Super Series for another 12 months. 

At 31, Van Schie is no spring chicken but it feels like his best years are still ahead of him, having posted some fantastic numbers across several different spheres in the last 12 months.

His fault has probably to this point been a sub-par ‘B game’ which sees him come out on the wrong side of too many matches. However, his ‘A game’ is right up there with the best and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him cause some damage at Minehead this weekend.

Manby may well be one for the future but when you consider what Littler was able to do so early in his PDC career, it’d be unwise to discount another extremely talented youngster lightly.

In fact, Manby was one of Littler’s main rivals on the junior circuits (despite being a year older) and the 19-year-old shared several finals with the Nuke in recent years, which can be dug out on YouTube if of interest.

He hit the headlines a couple of weeks ago for a 130 average in the Challenge Tour, toppling the previous record notched by, you guessed it, Littler. And while it’s fair to assume he won’t be repeating those levels on a weekly basis, it shows the talent he possesses.

Manby will no doubt get the backing of the Minehead crowd if he is chucked onto the main stage and at 1000/1, you could be forgiven for chancing a pound each way on yet another prodigious talent making waves on debut.

Matt Hill’s best outright bets for the 2025 UK Open

- Ryan Searle - 30/1 - 2pts each way (Star Sports)

- Damon Heta - 45/1 - 2pts each way (Star Sports)

- Jermaine Wattimena - 80/1 (100 with Boost) - 1pt each way (Ladbrokes)

- Connor Scutt - 80/1 (100 with Boost) - 1pt each way (Ladbrokes)

- Dom Taylor - 150/1 (190 with Boost) - 0.5pts each way (Ladbrokes)

- Jimmy van Schie - 500/1 (650 with Boost) - 0.25pts each way (Ladbrokes)

- Charlie Manby - 1000/1 (1300 with Boost) - 0.25pts each way (Ladrokes)