The tournament was held at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton, England, between 7–10 June 2012, and has the nickname, "the FA Cup of darts" as a random draw is staged after each round until the final.

Robert Thornton won the tournament beating Phil Taylor 11–5 in the final to win his first PDC major.

There were eight qualifying events staged across England between February and May 2012 to determine the UK Open Order of Merit Table.

The top 32 players and ties in the Order of Merit, who played a minimum of two events, received a place at the final tournament.

In addition, the next 82 players in the Order of Merit list qualified for the tournament, but needed to start in the earlier rounds played on the Thursday.