FA Cup of darts' provides amateurs with shot at glory

Unique setting of UK Open pits part-timers against professionals in a way that's becoming increasingly rare, with competition to break into the elite never greater

- Jonathan Liew

A pale pastel sun has settled over the Somerset coast. Two voices carry through the still of the dusk, over the shrieking seagulls and the roar of the surf. "ZOMBIE, ZOMBIE, ZOMBIE-BIE-BIE," the voices chime. Fifty yards down the beach, William O'Connor smiles and waves. Most streets, most weeks, the world's 49th-best darts player could take an evening stroll in total anonymity. But not this street. Not this week.

Inside the vast Skyline Pavilion, with 4,000 empty seats for company, Luke Humphries is throwing practice darts. Most of his rivals are taking a break between the afternoon and evening sessions, but Humphries likes to case the joint. He wants to pace the stage, visualise the moment, feel the way the air moves and circulates, and it moves differently at every venue. And that's why Humphries is the best in the world.

They call it the FA Cup of darts, and for most viewers the appeal of the UK Open lies in its classic knockout format: a completely open draw, amateurs mixed with professionals, 158 players whittled down to one over three gruelling days. With no seedings, the top players entering in round four are thrown into the bear pit. Luke Littler gets a tough opening assignment against the double world champion Peter Wright and squeaks through in a deciding leg.

But the real grace of Minehead in March is something you need to glimpse up close: a bustling village, a place where past and future, hedonism and heritage collide in a feast of elite darts, faded seaside glamour, happy campers and £20 pitchers of strawberry woo woo. Because this is not your ordinary darts tournament, and nor is it your ordinary darts crowd.