SCOTT Mitchell will face either Danny Jansen or Liam Meek to kick-off his quest at this week's UK Open.

One of the major events of the PDC calendar, 158 players will descend on Butlin's Minehead Resort for the tournament, which begins on Friday morning.

Draws for the opening three rounds have now been made, with Mitchell receiving a bye into round two courtesy of his position as number 69 on the order of merit.

The first round sees players ranked 97 to 126 in action, alongside players from the 2021 Challenger Tour, Development Tour and 16 amateur qualifiers.

That is where Jansen is set to face Meek, for the right to take on Dorset ace Mitchell.

Young Dutchman Jansen is competing on his first year on the PDC circuit, having won his tour card aged just 19 back in January, coming through Europe's Q School.

He notably beat 2022 World Championship finalist Michael Smith 6-2 in a Pro Tour event last month, averaging 106.22 on the way.

Englishman Meek, who turns 24 this week, qualified for the UK Open courtesy of his performances on the Development Tour last year.

Should Mitchell overcome Jansen or Meek, he would then face a battle with 'Rapid' Ricky Evans in round three.

Evans, 31, is ranked 39th on the order of merit and has been on the circuit for almost a decade.

Both of Mitchell's potential opening two matches are scheduled for board six on Friday afternoon, meaning they will not be the main televised games shown on ITV4.

First, second and third round matches are all best of 11 legs.

From the fourth round onwards, the top 32 players enter the UK Open, often referred to as the 'FA Cup of darts', due to it being the only competition which sees an open draw without seedings from the last 64 stage onwards.

The tournament finishes on Sunday, with £100,000 on offer for the winner.

Mitchell reached the fourth round of this event last year, before losing 10-8 to eventual semi-finalist Michael van Gerwen.