Alexis Toylo, Sandro Sosing and Shusaku Nakamura shared titles as the 2024 PDC Asian Tour continued in Kyoto last weekend.
The Kyoto Pulse Plaza in Japan played host to the year’s second Asian Tour treble-header on March 16-17, with 157 players in action across the weekend.
Toylo stole the headlines with back-to-back titles on the opening weekend in Dubai back in January, and he extended his lead at the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit with Event Four success on Saturday.
The Filipino conceded just four legs in his opening six matches, whitewashing two-time Lakeside champion Mikuru Suzuki in his opener, before averaging 99 in his quarter-final thrashing of Jemel Modesto.
Toylo followed this up with a semi-final whitewash of Tomoya Tsumura, before recovering from 4-3 down to edge out his compatriot Noel Malicdem in a rollercoaster clash.
Malicdem overcame former PDC Asian Championship runner-up Paolo Nebrida in his run to the final, while also accounting for Japan’s former World Championship qualifiers Seigo Asada and Keita Ono.
Reigning PDC Asian Championship finalist Sosing then clinched a maiden Asian Tour crown in Event Five, which he sealed with an impressive 5-3 success against home favourite Tomoya Goto.
Sosing rattled off four consecutive legs to triumph from 3-1 adrift, having also seen off China’s premier player Xiaochen Zong and Hong Kong star Man Lok Leung in deciding-leg tussles.
Leung and Goto both registered ton-topping averages in Event Five, although the performance of the day was delivered by Sho Okano, who averaged 105.47 in a four-leg demolition of Ami Komiyama.
Goto then crashed in a stunning 107 average in Sunday’s Event Six, but it was his fellow Japanese star Shusaku Nakamura who stole the show, after denying his fellow countryman Asada to secure his first Asian Tour title.
Nakamura defeated Singapore veteran Paul Lim in the last 16, before rallying from 4-3 down to edge out Leung in a dramatic semi-final showdown, surviving two match darts in the penultimate leg.
Nakamura then fought back from 3-2 adrift to topple a profligate Asada, winning three consecutive legs to catapult himself up to fourth on the PDC Asian Tour Order of Merit.
Toylo boasts a $3,450 lead at the summit following his hat-trick of wins during the opening six events, with Nebrida and Sosing occuping second and third spots respectively.
The next weekend of the 2024 PDC Asian Tour will take place in Manila in the Philippines from April 20-21, with coverage from Events 7-9 set to be broadcast on PDCTV from the last 16 onwards.
2024 PDC Asian Tour
Saturday March 16, Japan
Event Four
Quarter-Finals
Noel Malicdem 4-0 Paolo Nebrida
Seigo Asada 4-2 Sho Okano
Tomoya Tsumura 4-2 Tomonari Kurokawa
Alexis Toylo 4-1 Jemel Modesto
Semi-Finals
Noel Malicdem 5-2 Seigo Asada
Alexis Toylo 5-0 Tomoya Tsumura
Final
Alexis Toylo 5-4 Noel Malicdem
Event Five
Quarter-Finals
Shunpei Noge 4-2 Yuta Hayashi
Tomoya Goto 4-1 Nobuhiro Yamamoto
Ryusei Azemoto 4-3 Koichiro Terao
Sandro Sosing 4-1 Yuya Higuchi
Semi-Finals
Tomoya Goto 5-1 Shunpei Noge
Sandro Sosing 5-3 Ryusei Azemoto
Final
Sandro Sosing 5-3 Tomoya Goto
Sunday March 17
Event Six
Quarter-Finals
Shusaku Nakamura 4-1 Shunpei Noge
Man Lok Leung 4-1 Tomoya Goto
Seigo Asada 4-3 Lok Yin Lee
Alexis Toylo 4-2 Joel Hizon
Semi-Finals
Shusaku Nakamura 5-4 Man Lok Leung
Seigo Asada 5-3 Alexis Toylo
Final
Shusaku Nakamura 5-3 Seigo Asada
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