The 2011 Speedy Hire UK Open was the ninth year of the PDC darts tournament where, following numerous regional qualifying heats throughout Britain, players competed in a single elimination tournament to be crowned champion. The tournament was held at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton, England, between 2–5 June 2011, and has the nickname, "the FA Cup of darts", as a random draw is staged after each round until the final.

2011 Speedy Hire UK Open
Tournament information
Dates2–5 June 2011
VenueReebok Stadium
LocationBolton
Country England
Organisation(s)PDC
FormatLegs
Final – best of 21
Prize fund£200,000
Winner's share£40,000
Champion(s)
England James Wade
«2010 2012»

The title was won by James Wade, who defeated Wes Newton 11–8 in the final.[1]

Format and qualifiers

edit

2011 UK Open qualifiers

edit

There were eight qualifying events staged in Barnsley and Wigan between February and May 2011 to determine the UK Open Order of Merit Table. The tournament winners were:

No. Date Venue Winner Legs Runner-up Total
Prize Money
Winner Runner-up
1 Saturday 26 February Barnsley Metrodome, Barnsley Steve Brown   6 – 3   Ian White £34,600 £6,000 £3,000
2 Sunday 27 February Michael Smith   6 – 5   Dave Chisnall £34,600 £6,000 £3,000
3 Saturday 12 March Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan Adrian Lewis   6 – 4   Robert Thornton £34,600 £6,000 £3,000
4 Sunday 13 March Vincent van der Voort   6 – 4   Raymond van Barneveld £34,600 £6,000 £3,000
5 Saturday 16 April Barnsley Metrodome, Barnsley Gary Anderson   6 – 4   Phil Taylor £34,600 £6,000 £3,000
6 Sunday 17 April Phil Taylor   6 – 1   Joe Cullen £34,600 £6,000 £3,000
7 Saturday 30 April Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan Gary Anderson   6 – 2   Phil Taylor £34,600 £6,000 £3,000
8 Sunday 1 May Phil Taylor   6 – 3   Colin Osborne £34,600 £6,000 £3,000

The six players above that won a qualifying tournament all finished in the Top 32 in the merit table and thus entered the main tournament at the third round stage.

The tournament featured 172 players. As in previous years, eight UK Open qualifiers were staged across the north of England, where players' winnings were collated into the UK Open Order of Merit. The top 32 players in the Order of Merit, who played a minimum of two events, received a place in the third round of the final tournament. In addition, the next 76 players in the Order of Merit qualified for the tournament, but needed to start in the earlier rounds played on the Thursday.[2] A further 64 players qualified via regional qualifying tournaments.

Top 32 in Order of Merit (receiving byes into third round)

edit

Remaining Order of Merit qualifiers (starting in first and preliminary round)

edit

Rileys qualifiers

edit

32 players qualified from Rileys qualifiers held in Rileys Dart Zones across Britain.[3]

Speedy qualifiers

edit

32 players qualified from Speedy qualifiers held at four venues across Britain from 12 to 15 April.[4]

Prize money

edit

For the third consecutive UK Open, the prize fund was £200,000.

Stage (no. of players) Prize money
(Total: £200,000)
Winner (1) £40,000
Runner-Up (1) £20,000
Semi-finalists (2) £10,000
Quarter-finalists (4) £6,000
Last 16 (fifth round) (8) £4,000
Last 32 (fourth round) (16) £2,000
Last 64 (third round) (32) £1,000
Last 96 (second round) (32) n/a
Last 160 (first round) (64) n/a
Last 172 (preliminary round) (12) n/a

Draw

edit

The draw for the preliminary, first and second rounds was made on 12 May.[5]

Thursday 2 June; best of 7 legs

edit

[6]

Preliminary round

edit

Round 1

edit

Round 2

edit

Friday 3 June; best of 17 legs

edit

Round 3

edit

Draw made after Round 2 matches
[8]

Saturday 4 June; best of 17 legs

edit

Afternoon – Round 4

edit

Draw made after Round 3 matches.
[9]

Evening – Round 5

edit

Draw made after Round 4 matches[10]

Sunday 5 June

edit

These matches took place on the main stage.

Afternoon – Quarter-finals; best of 19 legs

edit

Draw made after Round 5 matches.
[11]

Player Legs Player
(99.29) Denis Ovens   10–6   Mark Hylton (98.88)
(93.42) Robert Thornton   7–10   Mark Webster (95.00)
(95.63) Dave Chisnall   8–10   Wes Newton (94.56)
(95.56) James Wade   10–7   Paul Nicholson (92.94)

Evening – Final 4

edit

Draw made after the Quarter-finals.

Semi-finals
Best of 19 legs[12]
Final
Best of 21 legs[13]
      
  James Wade (97.63) 10
  Mark Webster (96.09) 9
  James Wade (96.25) 11
  Wes Newton (88.51) 8
  Wes Newton (94.55) 10
  Denis Ovens (88.75) 6

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "James Wade defeats Wes Newton to clinch UK Open title". BBC Sport. 7 June 2011. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  2. ^ "Final UK Open Order of Merit". pdc.tv. Professional Darts Corporation. Archived from the original on 4 May 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  3. ^ "UK Open – Rileys Qualifiers". pdc.tv. Professional Darts Corporation. Archived from the original on 28 February 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  4. ^ "Speedy To Stage Qualifiers". pdc.tv. Professional Darts Corporation. Archived from the original on 30 May 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  5. ^ "Speedy Hire UK Open Draw". pdc.tv. Professional Darts Corporation. 12 May 2011. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  6. ^ "Speedy Hire UK Open – Night One". PDC. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  7. ^ "MaGowan Withdraws From UK Open". pdc.tv. Professional Darts Corporation. 2 June 2011. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  8. ^ "Speedy Hire UK Open – Friday". PDC. Archived from the original on 11 September 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  9. ^ "Speedy Hire UK Open Round Four". PDC. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  10. ^ "Speedy Hire UK Open Round Five". PDC. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  11. ^ "Speedy Hire UK Open Quarter-finals". PDC. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  12. ^ "Speedy Hire UK Open Semi-finals". PDC. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  13. ^ "Wade Wins Speedy Hire UK Open". PDC. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
edit