In the 2010 UK Open, he reached the semi-finals and in doing so, beat James Wade 10–9 In the semi-final he was defeated 10–3 by Scotsman Gary Anderson. Ayres won £10,000 by getting to the semi-final which lifted him from 57th to 49th in the Order of Merit.
On 27 November 2021, Ayres died at the age of 54 after suffering a heart attack whilst playing in a county darts match for Sussex.[1]