BEN Ward insists he has not set himself any targets ahead of his first UK Open, which starts today at Butlins in Minehead.

The Dorchester arrowsman begins his campaign at the Coral-sponsored event with a second round match against Steve Maish.

A win would see the 25-year-old go on to play Nigel Heydon, Steve Douglas or Johnny Haines in round three – those who reach the third stage are guaranteed of prize money.

Ward delivered some impressive performances in qualifying and believes he has nothing to fear if he can find that form again in Somerset.

“I haven’t really got much to lose,” he said. “I’m not going there worried about who I’m playing.

“If I play like I did in qualifying, I shouldn’t have many problems, and it will take a good player to beat me.

“If I play well I’ve always got a chance of winning. I feel confident but it’s all on the day, it doesn’t matter how good your practice is.

“I haven’t really set myself any targets, I’ll just take each game as it comes and hopefully play well.” He added: “Getting into the money is important but I’m not necessarily playing for money.

“The more I keep winning, the more chance I’ve got of qualifying for the World Championship at the end of the year.”

The three-day event is being shown live on ITV4 over the weekend with the eventual winner set to pocket £50,000.