2019 UK Open
The 2019 Ladbrokes UK Open was a darts tournament staged by the Professional Darts Corporation. It was the seventeenth year of the tournament where players compete in a single elimination tournament to be crowned champion. The tournament was being held for the sixth time at the Butlin's Resort in Minehead, England, between 1–3 March 2019, and has the nickname, "the FA Cup of darts" as a random draw is staged after each round following the conclusion of the third round until the final. Gary Anderson was the defending champion after defeating Corey Cadby 11–7 in the  2018 final. He was making his first public appearance since having to withdraw from both the 2019 Masters and the 2019 Premier League due to a persistent back injury, whilst Cadby was absent from this year’s competition due to visa problems. However, Anderson lost 8–10 in the fourth round to Steve Beaton. Nathan Aspinall won his first PDC major title, beating Rob Cross 11–5 in the final. Prize money. The prize fund increased from last year's edition to £450,000. Change. In a significant change of format, the tournament has increased from 128 to 160 participants. Also, the  ProTour UK Open Qualifiers have been scrapped in favour of a new system. All 128 PDC Tour Card holders automatically qualify, along with the Top 16 from the 2018 PDC Challenge Tour, plus 16 qualifiers from the Riley's Qualifiers taking place in early 2019. Due to Corey Cadby‘s withdrawal from the competition the field is reduced to 159 players who will now compete in this year’s tournament. Format. The 159 participants will enter the competition incrementally, with 63 players entering in the first round, with match winners joining the 32 players entering in the second and third rounds  to leave the last 64 in the fourth round. Qualifiers. PDC Challenge Tour Qualifiers (starting in First Round). The top 16 ranked players from the 2018 Challenge Tour Order of Merit who didn't have a Tour Card for the 2019 season qualified for the first round. Rileys Amateur Qualifiers (starting in First Round). 16 amateur players will qualify from 16 Riley's Sports Bar qualifiers held across the UK between 26 January and 24 February.