Ally Pally cult hero secures World Darts Championship return as one of five Asian qualifiers
PDCTuesday, 15 September 2026 at 11:30
Cult hero Motomu Sakai is heading back to the Alexandra Palace! Ahead of a World Series of Darts Finals debut next weekend, the flamboyant Japanese darter was one of five players to secure a trip to London this December.
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The Asian Tour concluded on 12 and 13 September with Events 25 through 28. Ryuta Arihara in particular signed off in style. The Japanese player topped the final standings and can now prepare for his PDC World Darts Championship debut.
The first title of the closing weekend went to Rolly Gabiana on Saturday. He convincingly beat China’s Xiaochen Zong 5-1 in the Event 25 final to claim his first Asian Tour title.
Gabiana had to work much harder on his route to the decider. He needed a last-leg decider against both Arihara and Joel Hizon. In his semi-final versus Hizon, Gabiana even trailed 4-2, but he managed to turn the match around.
Motomu Sakai won many fans’ hearts at the last World Darts Championship
Fifth title for Arihara
Later on Saturday, Arihara denied Gabiana a quickfire second title of the weekend. The Japanese player won Event 26 with a 5-3 victory in the final, taking his season tally to five Asian Tour titles.
Arihara had already shown a notably high level earlier in the tournament. Against Eduardo Jr. Largo he averaged a superb 113.64. With legs of 16, 12, 15, and 11 darts, he sealed a dominant 4-1 win.
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After victories over Christian De Los Reyes and Junlong Yin, Arihara booked his place in the final by beating Man Lok Leung in the semi-finals. Leung made his competitive return in China after a spell out through illness.
Lee claims Sunday title
Leung’s World Cup partner, Lok Yin Lee, got to celebrate a title himself a day later. Lee took Event 27 by beating De Los Reyes 5-2 in the final.
In the semi-finals, Lee proved too strong for Malaysia’s Norhisame Bin Wahab. His campaign began with a win over Ryusei Azemoto, who previously featured at the World Darts Championship.
The final title of the Asian Tour season went to Alexis Toylo. The Filipino topped the Asian Tour ranking in each of the previous two years, but this time his Event 28 victory was not enough to secure another ticket to Alexandra Palace.
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Toylo beat compatriot Lourence Ilagan in the final. He trailed 3-1 but rattled off four straight legs to wrap up the title. Earlier, he had whitewashed Sakai in the last 16.
Five World Championship tickets awarded
Arihara ended the season as number one on the Asian Tour ranking, finishing ahead of fellow Japanese player Sakai. For Arihara, that means he will make his first career appearance at the World Darts Championship.
Christian Perez finished third in the standings. The former PDC Asian Champion can therefore prepare for his fifth outing at Alexandra Palace.
Muramatsu and Lee also finished high enough to qualify. That means Arihara, Sakai, Perez, Muramatsu, and Lee are the five players who have secured World Darts Championship spots via the PDC Asian Tour.
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Read also
Results PDC Asian Tour 2026
Final Event 25
| Rolly Gabiana | 5-1 | Xiaochen Zong |
Final Event 26
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| Ryuta Arihara | 5-3 | Rolly Gabiana |
Final Event 27
| Lok Yin Lee | 5-2 | Christian De Los Reyes |
Final Event 28
| Alexis Toylo | 5-3 | Lourence Ilagan |
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Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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