A resurgent Steve Beaton and three time Champion James Wade will retain their ever-present records at the Cazoo UK Open this weekend.
The duo are the only two players to have competed in each of the 21 UK Opens since the tournament’s inception in 2003, and Wade boasts a terrific record in the unique multi-board event.
Wade lifted UK Open titles in 2008 and 2011 before completing his hat-trick in 2021, while Beaton – a semi-finalist in 2004, also reached the quarter-finals four years ago.
The pair are among 158 players who will be battling it out for the £110,000 top prize in this year’s festival of darts, which takes place at Butlin’s Minehead Resort from March 3-5.
Wade is defending £100,000 in prize money on the rolling two-year PDC Order of Merit following his 2021 success – his most recent televised title.
Beaton, meanwhile, has enjoyed an impressive revival over recent months, losing to Wade in a Players Championship final last November – his first appearance in a ranking final since 2017.
The former Lakeside World Champion had been in danger of dropping out of the the top 64 and losing his PDC Tour Card, but his superb season’s ending run, a win at Ally Pally and a fine start to 2023 ensure The Bronzed Adonis will be entertaining his devoted fans for a good while yet.
The ever popular 59-year-old also made the quarter-finals of last weekend’s Interwetten Baltic Sea Darts Open, averaging 106 to dispatch Adrian Lewis before dumping out Nathan Aspinall and Joe Cullen.
The Cazoo UK Open begins on Friday March 3, and for the first time in UK Open history, every match of the 2023 tournament will be broadcast live.
Main Stage matches across all three days will be broadcast live on ITV4 for UK viewers, through the PDC’s international broadcast partners, including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV for Rest of the World Subscribers.
Stage Two action on Friday and Saturday will be streamed exclusively for all PDCTV Subscribers worldwide, with commentary from Dan McCarthy and Paul Nicholson.
In addition, matches from Stages Three to Eight will be broadcast live on PDCTV on Friday and Saturday, meaning that for the first time fans will be able to watch all matches from the event.
—–Ends—–
Images: PDC
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