Ryusei Azemoto clinched back-to-back wins as the 2024 PDC Asian Tour continued in Manila last weekend, while Alexis Toylo maintained his terrific form with a fourth title of the campaign.
The Winford Resort and Casino Manila in the Philippines played host to the year's third Asian Tour treble-header on April 20-21, with 158 players in action across the weekend.
Toylo had been the dominant force on the Asian Tour with three wins in the first six events, and he extended his lead with victory in Event Seven on Saturday.
The Filipino prevailed on home soil with an impressive comeback win against PDC Asian Champion Haruki Muramatsu, reeling off successive legs in 12 and 15 darts to triumph from 4-3 down.
Toylo also whitewashed his compatriot Sandro Sosing in the last 16, before following up a quarter-final victory over Azemoto with a semi-final success against Tomoya Goto.
Azemoto then denied Goto in an all-Japanese affair to claim the Event Eight spoils, reeling off three consecutive legs from 3-2 behind to celebrate his maiden Asian Tour title.
He also denied Hong Kong’s World Cup duo Man Lok Leung and Lok Yin Lee on his way to glory, before overcoming Paolo Nebrida and Muramatsu in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.
Azemoto then capped off a landmark weekend by storming to the Event Nine crown on Sunday, courtesy of an emphatic 5-1 victory against Order of Merit leader Toylo.
The Japanese star claimed a host of high-profile scalps to scoop the $2,000 top prize, defeating Kai Fan Leung, Muramatsu and Nebrida, and edging out Albert Jan Dela Serna and Reynaldo Rivera in last-leg deciders.
Elsewhere, Malaysia’s Tengku Shah – who qualified for the 2016/2017 World Darts Championship – also enjoyed a memorable weekend, hitting a nine-darter in a qualifying event for the next Asian Tour weekend.
The next weekend of the 2024 PDC Asian Tour will take place in Malaysia from May 18-19, with coverage from Events 10-12 set to be broadcast on PDCTV from the last 16 onwards.
Toylo boasts a $5,150 lead at the top of the Order of Merit, while Azemoto has catapulted himself up to second, above Filipino duo Nebrida and Sosing, who occupy third and fourth spots respectively.
2024 PDC Asian Tour
Saturday April 20, Philippines
Event Seven
Quarter-Finals
Haruki Muramatsu 4-3 Ryan Galceran
Lourence Ilagan 4-0 Siik Hwang Wong
Alexis Toylo 4-2 Ryusei Azemoto
Tomoya Goto 4-1 An Sheng Lu
Semi-Finals
Haruki Muramatsu 5-4 Lourence Ilagan
Alexis Toylo 5-3 Tomoya Goto
Final
Alexis Toylo 5-4 Haruki Muramatsu
Event Eight
Quarter-Finals
Ryusei Azemoto 4-1 Paolo Nebrida
Haruki Muramatsu 4-1 Mitsuhiko Tatsunami
Abdul Qahar Ukail Hj Shamsul Ariffin 4-3 Jayson Langcao
Tomoya Goto 4-2 Eduardo Largo
Semi-Finals
Ryusei Azemoto 5-2 Haruki Muramatsu
Tomoya Goto 5-0 Abdul Qahar Ukail Hj Shamsul Ariffin
Final
Ryusei Azemoto 5-3 Tomoya Goto
Sunday April 21
Event Nine
Quarter-Finals
Ryusei Azemoto 4-1 Paolo Nebrida
Reynaldo Rivera 4-1 Alex Tagarao
Alexis Toylo 4-1 Shusaku Nakamura
Pelona Melvin Kent 4-3 Bracero John Mark
Semi-Finals
Ryusei Azemoto 5-4 Reynaldo Rivera
Alexis Toylo 5-3 Pelona Melvin Kent
Final
Ryusei Azemoto 5-1 Alexis Toylo