On top of that, he's got decent memories of Minehead - and the same could be said for Daryl Gurney, who won the Players Championship Finals there a few years ago.
Gurney played pretty well at the weekend and if he can get some good draws and build his confidence, then don't be shocked to see him go far.
Ryan Searle is on home territory - where he was runner-up at the Players Championship Finals back in 2021 - plus he's also playing very well having won a Players Championship title in the past few weeks and reached a European Tour semi-final for the first time only a few days ago.
It's an impossible event to predict but if someone put a gun to my head and demanded a name, I'd say Ryan Searle.
Josh Rock is one of the players coming in at round three during Friday afternoon alongside the likes of Mensur Suljovic, Adrian Lewis and Simon Whitlock so keep your eyes on him.
The way he handled the pressure of his big stage appearances last year has made everyone think a title could be around the corner but he does open up against Luke Woodhouse and will need to hit the ground running.
In the old days of the UK Open, many of the Rileys amateurs were very much unknown quantities, which helped create this ‘magic of the cup’ vibe about the tournament – as well as the random draw.
They were regarded as the ‘non-league’ participants but in recent times they've become much stronger because the darts scene away from the main PDC Tour is so buoyant.
The amateur game has never been stronger thanks to the rise of the Modus Super Series, the WDF and the ADC so none of the 16 players who came through the Rileys Qualifiers can be considered an easy draw.
One of those is 16-year-old Luke Littler, who has dominated the headlines ahead of his PDC major debut.
There's pressure on his shoulders after an incredible year in which he’s won WDF silverware, played at the Lakeside and more, so people will expect him to go quite deep.
Littler actually opens the event on the main stage against Nick Fullwell so he can go out there, relax and enjoy the experience, but opening any event isn’t simple and will bring pressure.
My Rileys Qualifier to watch is Darryl Pilgrim. He can average mid-90s consistently and is one of the best players around without a Tour Card. Don't be surprised to see him getting through to the weekend.
As for the Challenge Tour and the Development Tour qualifiers, there are plenty of dangerous names who can cause problems.
Thibault Tricole is certainly a player who could plough through the early rounds without anyone noticing and then spring a few surprises.
It's crazy that Jelle Klaasen is in the Challenge Tour list of qualifiers and he heads to Minehead off the back of winning a week at the Modus Super Series.
Sebastian Bialecki is a name to look out for from the Development Tour list although many expected him to win a Tour Card at Q School.
He reached the quarter-finals here last year and also qualified for the PDC World Championship, where he played pretty well, but I'm more impressed in how he's taking all this patiently in his stride. He doesn't seem to want too much too soon.
Don't underestimate new PDC tour card holder Arron Monk, especially if he can get his head right, and a good run this weekend would do him the world of good.
I tipped Graham Hall in one of my earlier columns this year to have a great season and he's already hit a nine-dart leg! So I wouldn't be surprised to see him make a name for himself in Minehead.
I also predicted big things for Richard Veenstra and he's made a good start to the season.
An event like this is very similar to the Dutch Open that he's won before and he should thrive if the draw is kind - he's definitely capable of causing some shocks and could reach Sunday's play.
Playing one of these 'lesser' names isn’t easy for the top players. Although I never played the role of the unknown quantity in my career, I know what the pressure is like to be on the receiving end of such an opponent.
I once played in the first game of the tournament on the main stage against a player I’d never heard of called Harry Miles – and even now I had to go on Wikipedia to remember. I was properly nervous! I didn’t want to be that big name who loses to somebody nobody knows.
I did win that game but a few years earlier my debut UK Open was ended by the unknown Ken Mather, which I mentioned earlier. Nobody is safe!