Robert Thornton will face either Kevin Bambrick or Nicky Bell
Tuesday 14 February 2017 13:32, UK
Former Lakeside champions Stephen Bunting and Mark Webster will collide on the opening day of the 2017 Coral UK Open next month.
Webster and Bunting - who are also former UK Open semi-finalists - will meet in the second round on Friday, March 3.
Scottish star Robert Thornton, the 2012 UK Open champion, has drawn the winner of the first-round clash between amateurs Kevin Bambrick or Nicky Bell.
World Championship quarter-finalist Daryl Gurney faces Bristol-based UK Open debutant Ryan Palmer, while youngster Ted Evetts - who landed a nine-darter in one of the six UK Open Qualifiers - drew either amateur ace Brian Dawson or Devon's Paul Milford.
Former runner-up Vincent van der Voort meets either James Wilson or Rileys Twickenham qualifier Gary Eastwood.
Terry Jenkins, a 2014 UK Open finalist, faces either Wayne Jones or Lee Bryant, South Africa's Devon Petersen comes up against either Hong Kong's Kai Fan Leung or Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena and 2006 runner-up Barrie Bates plays Jeffrey de Graaf.
The first round, which features the players ranked from 65-96 in the UK Open Order of Merit and the 32 Rileys Qualifiers, will include Spain's Antonio Alcinas up against James Richardson.
The top 32 players from the Coral UK Open Order of Merit will enter the tournament - which features an increased £350,000 prize fund this year - in the third round on Friday evening.
They include reigning champion Michael van Gerwen, who has won the last two UK Opens at Minehead and hit a nine-dart finish in last year's event - while the world champion also hit two perfect legs in one match during his success in winning Qualifier Four last Friday.
Peter Wright, who won three of the UK Open Qualifiers, and double-winner Simon Whitlock also enter in round three, alongside former UK Open champions Raymond van Barneveld, James Wade and Adrian Lewis and world No 2 Gary Anderson.
The tournament is the first UK Open which Phil Taylor, the five-time champion between 2003-2013, will miss as he continues to scale down his playing commitments ahead of retiring.
The unique tournament sees play across eight stages simultaneously in the early rounds at the Butlins Minehead Resort, while the open draw can see top names pitted against each other at any stage.
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