Darts

UK Open Review: How did Northern duo Callan Rydz and Chris Dobey get on?

The UK Open is one of the biggest events of the year and is one of the three ranking competitions that almost everyone enters – alongside with the World Championship and Players Championship Finals.

Both Dobey and Rydz came into this tournament with high hopes, but for different reasons.

Dobey’s UK Open last year was a successful one making it to the sixth round whereas Rydz’s confidence was high due to his start to 2021 – winning the second Super Series event.

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UK Open: When is it? How can you watch it & How will Northern players Chris Dobey and Callan Rydz perform?

The 2021 UK Open is starting on Friday 5th March and will be hosted at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.

160 players will compete for a massive £100,000 with different players entering the tournament in different rounds.

Prior to the event, qualifiers are held across the UK with 32 amateurs earning qualification into the competition’s first round where they will be joined by tour card holders who are seeded 98-128.

In round two Tour Card holders seeded 65-97 will join the party along with the winners from the first round before tour card holders 33-64 join in round three – including Newcastle’s Callan Rydz.

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Fab Four Darting Nights in the Toon

For North East darts fans denied their fix of live action, missing out on Premier League nights at Newcastle’s Utility Arena will give them the toughest withdrawal symptoms of all.

Unlike tournament darts, the quickfire 12-leg format of the Premier League and high-scoring, high-octane encounters between the world’s elite are enough to grab even the most casual of fans.

But although the competition is delayed due to lockdown, and likely to be played behind closed doors once it does resume, many previous nights in Newcastle live long on in the memory.

But which of these matches was the best the Arena has ever seen?

Here we look back on four nights in Newcastle that Premier League debutants Jose De Souza, Dimitri Van Den Berg and recent Masters champion Jonny Clayton will be hoping to recreate this year.

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Callan Rydz wins his first professional ranking tournament in his first final.

World Number 65 Callan Rydz reached his first professional darts final on Friday in the form of a Players Championship final against Master’s Champion Jonny Clayton.

With the North East not being known for its darting ability it was a breath of fresh air to see a player from Newcastle in the final of a ranking tournament.

Rydz was faced with a difficult task as Clayton had been in great form in 2021 reaching the final of every tournament so far this year beating Michael Van Gerwen in this tournament.

Having already demolished his targets Rydz had nothing to lose going into this final but does the sudden emergence of Rydz cause a threat to Chris Dobey’s reign as the highest ranked player in the North?

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