Simon Stevenson and Marc Dewsbury will make their Ladbrokes UK Open returns this year after becoming the first two of four PDC in the Community Qualifiers.
This year’s Ladbrokes UK Open will be staged at Butlin’s Minehead Resort from February 28-March 2, and will see top stars including world number one Luke Humphries, World Champion Luke Littler and reigning champion Dimitri Van den Bergh joined by 16 Amateur Qualifiers.
Whilst a dozen of those spots were secured from PDC Amateur Qualifiers staged across four events, the other four places were on offer in the new PDC in the Community Qualifiers being staged in independent venues.
Stevenson secured his place through the qualifying series held at Plymouth’s Victory Pub, defeating Neil Meneer in 7-3 in the final after showing his quality with two 98+ averages in the final rounds from the Last 16 onwards.
The 52-year-old made his PDC debut as an amateur at the 2014 UK Open and reached the 2019 quarter-finals in one of four subsequent appearances, while he also qualified for the 2016/17 World Darts Championship.
Dewsbury was the winner from Somercotes Snooker Club in Derbyshire, defeating Nigel Daniels 6-2 in the final.
The 50-year-old plumber previously played in the 2012 UK Open, and competed on the PDC ProTour in 2013 and 2014, and most recently competed on the Challenge Tour in 2019.
The remaining two PDC in the Community Qualifiers conclude this coming weekend, at 25 Bull Darts in Pencoed and Out Out Bar in Newport.
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Images: PDC
