The Holsten qualifiers and the players outside the top 32 of the UK Open Order of Merit began the tournament on the Thursday night.

They played down to 32 players, and they were joined by the top 32 of the UK Open Order of Merit the following night, to provide the competition's last 64.

A random draw was made after each subsequent round There were eight regional final events staged between September 2007 and March 2008 to determine the UK Open Order of Merit Table.

Van Barneveld, who had won the tournament for the previous two years went out in the semi-finals to Gary Mawson, which was the Dutchman's first loss at the Reebok Stadium in the event.

It also meant that Phil Taylor now overtook him to regain the top spot in the PDC Order of Merit/world rankings, as van Barneveld had failed to defend the £30,000 from the UK Open two years ago.