ANDY HAMILTON and Alex Roy were amongst eight players to secure spots in the Coral UK Open on the third weekend of Rileys Amateur Qualifiers.
Stoke's Hamilton, the 2013 UK Open finalist, has dropped off the PDC circuit this year after losing his PDC Tour Card at the end of last year, which also saw him miss the UK Open finals for the first time in 14 years.
However, he will return to the Butlin's Minehead Resort in March to compete as one of the 32 Rileys Amateur Qualifiers after winning through the Rileys Worcester knockout on Saturday.
Alex Roy will maintain his remarkable record of being a UK Open ever-present since the tournament's introduction in 2003, with the two-time quarter-finalist having won through the Rileys Harlow knockout.
The weekend's two Rileys Chester events were won by Stalybridge-based sales engineer David Airey and St Helens' Craig Winstanley respectively, while Derbyshire's Chris Lacey won the Rileys Sheffield event.
Former PDC Unicorn Development Tour finalist Harry Ward, 20, won the Rileys Coventry knockout to secure his second UK Open appearance, having previously played in the 2016 event.
Blyth-based delivery driver Simon Tate won the Rileys Greenock knockout, while the Rileys Solihull qualifier was Daniel Lee, a decorator by trade.
The Rileys Amateur Qualifiers continue on February 10-11 on the fourth of five weekends where amateur players can bid to win a UK Open spot.
The knockouts will be held in Rileys Sports Bars across the country, with Chester, Chorlton, Coventry, Greenock, Liverpool, London Victoria, Norwich, Nottingham, South Benfleet, Twickenham and Wolverhampton all staging two events.
Entry costs £7 per player per event, with the entry fee including a free drink. Entry can be made via www.rileys.co.uk/tournaments, or in person at the Rileys Sports Bars, with entries for each event closing at 5pm on the day before that specific knockout.
Players are permitted to enter more than one tournament. Players must be aged 16 or above to enter. Full tourmament rules can be seen at www.rileys.co.uk/tournaments.
Players who competed at the 2018 PDC Qualifying School but were ranked lower than the 256-player limit for the six UK Open Qualifiers for professionals can now enter the remaining Rileys Amateur Qualifiers. For full details, see the PDPA website.
2018 Coral UK Open
Rileys Amateur Qualifiers
Saturday January 20
Greenock Q1 - Andrew Davidson
Sunday January 21
London Victoria Q1 (Two players qualify) - Michael Burgoine & Joe Davis
Saturday January 27
Chorlton Q1 - Andrew Johnson
Norwich Q1 - Jason Mold
Nottingham Q1 - Tony Mitchell
Twickenham Q1 - Ian Jopling
Wolverhampton Q1 (Two players qualify) - Mark Craddock, Liam Kelly
Sunday January 28
Leicester - Benjamin McClelland
Liverpool Q1 - Mark Rice
South Benfleet Q1 - Paul Hogan
Saturday February 3
Chester Q1 - David Airey
Harlow - Alex Roy
Sheffield - Chris Lacey
Worcester - Andy Hamilton
Sunday February 4
Chester Q2 - Craig Winstanley
Coventry Q1 - Harry Ward
Greenock Q2 - Simon Tate
Solihull - Daniel Lee
Saturday February 10
Chorlton Q2
Sunday February 11
Twickenham Q2 (moved from Feb 10)
Saturday February 17
Aberdeen
Coventry Q2
Liverpool Q2
Norwich Q2
Nottingham Q2
Sunday February 18
London Victoria Q2 (Two players qualify)
South Benfleet Q2
Wolverhampton Q2 (Two players qualify)