A TOTAL of 96 professional players have qualified for the UK Open Finals, which will be held at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton from June 3-6.

Eight Qualifiers, each worth £31,600 in prize money, have been held over the past three months for professionals to earn their places in the tournament.

The top 96 players from the UK Open Order of Merit who have played in a minimum of three Qualifiers now win places in the Sky Sports-televised UK Open Finals.

Mark Walsh was the leading player from the eight qualifiers, earning £15,200 prize money which included two £6,000 event wins, while reigning UK Open champion Phil Taylor won £15,000 from three events played, having won two Qualifiers and lost in the final of the other.

The top 32 players enter the UK Open, nicknamed 'The FA Cup of Darts' at the Third Round stage on Friday June 4 at the Reebok Stadium.

However, the tournament - unique for the free draw format which means top players can be drawn together at any stage - begins on Thursday June 3 with the Preliminary Round, First Round and Second Round.

The Preliminary and First Rounds feature the players ranked from 65-96 in the UK Open Order of Merit, who are joined by the 32 Rileys Amateur Qualifiers and ten BDO County representatives.

The Second Round will feature the First Round's 32 winners alongside the players ranked from 33-64 in the UK Open Order of Merit, who include 2004 UK Open champion Roland Scholten, Wayne Mardle, Peter Manley and the totesport.com Players Championship winner Paul Nicholson.

The players tied on £2,300 placed 31-34 in the UK Open Order of Merit were separated by a count-back of prize money won in the previous four tournaments, while Raymond van Barneveld did not qualify having not competed in the requisite three Qualifiers.

The 96 professionals are joined in the UK Open by 32 Rileys Amateur Qualifiers, who have won through knockout qualifiers held in Rileys Darts Zones around the UK, and the BDO County representatives.

The draw for the Preliminary Round, First Round & Second Round will be made on Thursday May 13 and published at www.pdc.tv. The Third Round draw will be made at the close of play in the Second Round on Thursday June 3 in Bolton.

Tickets for the UK Open cost from £20 and are available by calling 0844 871 2932 or by visiting the Reebok Stadium Box Office.

FINAL UK OPEN ORDER OF MERIT
Pos Name Events Prize Money
1 WALSH,Mark 8 £15,200
2 TAYLOR,Phil 3 £15,000
3 ANDERSON,Gary 8 £13,500
4 WADE,James 7 £10,900
5 LLOYD,Colin 8 £7,700
6 KING,Mervyn 6 £7,200
7 CAVEN,Jamie 8 £6,900
8 NEWTON,Wesley 8 £6,500
9 PART,John 8 £6,300
10 OSBORNE,Colin 7 £5,900
11 HAMILTON, Andy 8 £5,100
12 WHITLOCK,Simon 8 £4,900
13 VOORT,Vincent van der 8 £4,700
14 JONES,Wayne 8 £4,600
15 WEBSTER,Mark 8 £4,500
16 WRIGHT,Peter 8 £4,400
17 KLAASEN,Jelle 8 £4,400
18 PAINTER, Kevin 8 £3,900
19 STOMPE Co 7 £3,600
20 LEWIS,Adrian 8 £3,400
21 GERWEN,Michael van 8 £3,200
22 DUDBRIDGE,Mark 8 £3,200
23 TABERN,Alan 8 £3,000
24 MAISH,Steve 8 £2,900
25 DOLAN,Brendan 8 £2,900
26 JENKINS,Terry 7 £2,900
27 PRIESTLEY,Dennis 6 £2,800
28 CLARK,Matt 8 £2,800
29 BAXTER,Ronnie 8 £2,700
30 OVENS,Denis 8 £2,500
31 ECCLES,Tony * (count-back £1,600) 8 £2,300
32 HEYDON,Nigel * (£1,200) 8 £2,300
33 SMITH,Andy * (£1,000) 8 £2,300
34 NICHOLSON,Paul * (£800) 8 £2,300
35 THOMPSON, Chris 8 £2,200
36 FROST.Mark 8 £2,200
37 PIPE,Justin 8 £2,200
38 LAWRENCE,Mark 8 £2,200
39 FULLWELL,Nick 8 £2,000
40 MONK,Colin 8 £2,000
41 BEATON,Steve 8 £1,900
42 BATES,Barrie 8 £1,900
43 JOHNSON,Darren 8 £1,900
44 SMITH,Dennis 8 £1,800
45 GRAY,Adrian 8 £1,700
46 THORNTON,Robert 8 £1,600
47 MASON,Chris 8 £1,600
48 SCHOLTEN,Roland 6 £1,600
49 EVANS,Steve 8 £1,500
50 BROWN,Steve 8 £1,400
51 COX,Mark 8 £1,400
52 BARNARD,Michael 8 £1,400
53 MARDLE,Wayne 7 £1,400
54 McGOWAN,Mick 8 £1,300
55 SHEPHERD,Kirk 8 £1,300
56 MONK,Arron 8 £1,300
57 SMITH,Michael 5 £1,200
58 McDINE,Kevin 7 £1,200
59 HARDY,Stephen 8 £1,100
60 MANLEY,Peter 5 £1,100
61 ATWOOD,Wayne 6 £1,000
62 AYRES,Tony 7 £1,000
63 ROY,Alex 8 £1,000
64 DUTTON,Stuart 6 £1,000
65 FARMER,Steve 7 £900
66 MAWSON,Gary 6 £900
67 DOWLING,Kevin 8 £800
68 HINE,Steve 8 £800
69 HUDSON,Peter 8 £800
70 SMITH,Dave 7 £700
71 CUNNINGHAM,Simon 4 £700
72 QUANTOCK,John 6 £700
73 ARTUT,Jyhan 3 £700
74 CULLEN,Joe 7 £700
75 STEPHENSON,Mark 8 £600
76 PADGETT,Matt 8 £600
77 HONEY,Dave 8 £600
78 EASTWOOD,Gary 6 £600
79 WEBSTER,Darren 8 £600
80 BLUNDELL,Louis 8 £600
81 DUO,Dylan 5 £600
82 CLARK,Jason 6 £500
83 O'CONNOR,William 4 £500
84 RAND,Scott 3 £500
85 RIIHONEN,Par 8 £500
86 ALLEN,Sam 8 £500
87 LISCSEY,Anton 6 £500
88 PINHORNE,Danny 8 £400
89 ROWLEY,Paul 8 £400
90 TURNER,Martyn 7 £400
91 LATHAM,Darren 7 £400
92 NEWLAND,Robbie 8 £400
93 BURNETT,Richie 8 £400
94 DRAPER,Matt 7 £400
95 LOUDON,Chris 8 £400
96 HUTCHINGS,Andy 8 £400
Did Not Qualify
BARNEVELD, Raymond van 1 £1,000
  BARTON,James 7 £300
  BOUSFIELD,Stuart 8 £300
  JOPLING,Ian 7 £300
  O'NEILL,Aodhagan 3 £300
  RANDELL,Tony 8 £300
WEAVER,Darren 7 £300
  ALLSOP,Dean 8 £200
  ASKEW,Dave 7 £200
  ATKINS,Jamie 5 £200
  ATWILL,Ron 8 £200
  BIRCH,Nigel 7 £200
  CALLABY,Andy 6 £200
  EDMONDS,Peter 5 £200
  GREEBE,Toon 2 £200
  GRUBB,Steve 8 £200
  HAYES,Lee 6 £200
  JENKINS,Andy 1 £200
  JODRILL,Mark 7 £200
  LADLEY,Dave 8 £200
  LEVER,Ian 8 £200
  MANN,Jimmy 8 £200
  McFARLANE,Ian 8 £200
  MICHELS,Mareno 7 £200
  MUSSON,Steve 8 £200
  PARKER,Robbie 4 £200
  PEARSON,Steve 4 £200
  SAMS,Lionel 2 £200
  STARTIN,Brian 4 £200
  SULJOVIC, Mensur 2 £200
  VUYST, Didier de 3 £200
  WHITE,Ian 3 £200
  WILLIAMS,Lee 8 £200

The 32 Rileys Amateur Qualifiers are:
Melvyn Johnston Aberdeen
Paul Gibbs Bournemouth
Tony Broughton Bournemouth
Dean Edlin Brighton
Michael Hammond Brighton
Darren Sullivan Burton
Ricky Evans Burton
Alex Harrison Cardiff
David Martin Cardiff
John Bowles Chester
Noel Grant Coventry
Henry Murphy Croydon
Paul Neate Croydon
John Robertson Edinburgh
Ryan Murray Edinburgh
John Lakeman Exeter
Barrie Knight Gillingham
Mark Wilson Hull
Reece Robinson Hull
Bradley Williams Liverpool
Jamie Green Liverpool
Ashley Whisker London
Paul Warwick London
Paul Whitworth Manchester
Stuart Monaghan Manchester
Barrie Webb Norwich
Joe Palmer Oxford
Pete Fisher Oxford
Simon Jones Solihull
Dean Stewart Wolverhampton
Nicky Bache Wolverhampton
Dean Harris Worcester


The BDO County representatives are:
Mike Nott Avon
Andy Murray East Stirlingshire
Tony Hutchinson Hampshire
Hugh Ringland Lothian
Ian Gleeson Northumberland
Jay Foreman Nottinghamshire
Mark Harris Surrey
Prakash Jiwa Warwickshire
Kevin Lowe Bedfordshire
Henry O'Neill Gloucestershire