Filipino double success on Asian Tour: Ilagan and Toylo take home titles as latest Ally Pally spot sealed

Lourence Ilagan struck for the second time Sunday on the PDC Asian Tour over the weekend. There was also a title for Alexis Toylo, who may look forward to a return to the World Darts Championship.

Saturday, the first two Asian Tour tournaments of the penultimate weekend were played in the Philippines. Ilagan and Ryusei Azemoto won the titles then. Sunday saw another success for Ilagan, who thus rejoined the battle for the World Cup spots.

Following his title at the 21st tournament of the Asian Tour, 'The Gunner' also won the 23rd tournament. Ilagan successively defeated Sonny Balagat (4-1), Reynaldo Rivera (4-1), John Ray Sajol (4-2), Ryan Khristoffer Condat (4-1), Rodel Villa (4-0), Noel Malicdem (5-2) and Takayuki Masatsu (5-0).

Ilagan was still outside the top five prior to the Asian Tour weekend, and thus not yet on a virtual World Championship spot. By winning two titles this weekend, however, Ilagan is now in third place, putting qualification for the World Darts Championship within reach.

His compatriot Toylo will return to Alexandra Palace in December anyway, where he made his debut last year. Toylo won the 24th tournament of the season on Sunday. In doing so, he strengthened his lead position, making a spot among the top five players inevitable.

The Filipino darter got through his first four matches fairly smoothly. He dealt with successively Robin Emmanuel (4-0), Jayson Langcao (4-2), Mark Anthony Opada (4-1) and Russelle Mark Canapi (4-0) for a spot in the quarterfinals. He was then too strong for Ryuta Arihara, 4-3, before defeating Tengku Shah, 5-3, for a spot in the final. Then Toylo triumphed 5-4 against Sonny Balagat to take the title.

In September, the Asian Tour concludes with the final weekend. The Chinese city of Qingdao hosts the final four tournaments of the season. The top five on the Asian Tour Order of Merit after this four-part series may compete at Ally Pally.