 Shayne Burgess, Mark Holden, Mark Walsh and Paul Whitworth were the four players who progressed from qualifying to the main draw.The maximum number of legs played in a match increased from 19 in the first round to 25 in the second and 31 and 33 in the quarter and semi-finals respectively, leading up to the final which was played as best-of-35 legs.Sponsored by the betting company Stan James, it had a total prize fund of £75,500, and the host broadcaster was Sky Sports.