"I lost a lot of opportunities last year" - Christian Perez determined to prove a point after visa issue ruin debut year on PDC Pro Tour

Christian Perez made history at Q-School 2023, when he became the first Filipino darts player to secure themselves a place on the Pro Tour and a PDC Tour Card. Since then however, it's been far from smooth sailing for the 42-year-old.

Whilst historically, darts hasn't been that big in Asia, over recent years a number of very talented players have come through they Asian Tour system, with a breakout star seemingly on the cards before too long. Speaking to Weekly Dartscast, Perez explained how he himself got into the sport. "My father played darts. So I got involved because we had a dart board at home. I grabbed some darts and enjoyed it," he recalls. "When I was young, I hardly won any events but as time went by, I got some good sponsorship and then I finally made it to the top of the Philippines darts."

Thanks in part to Visa issues that plagued his first year on tour, Perez currently sits 99th in the PDC Order of Merit, with a lot of work to do if he's to make it successfully into the world's top 64 and retain his Tour Card at the end of the year. "It took a lot of time to secure my Visa so I lost a lot of opportunities last year," Perez admits. "But, eventually this year, I finally made it!"

"When I finally found out that I'd got one, I was so, so happy. It was my dream to have a Tour Card and it was my dream to just even play in the Q-School. That was my dream 10 years ago, so then when I finally won and I was so happy about it. A great moment," he recalls of his victorious moment at Q-School 2023.

As mentioned though, whilst Perez is the only Filipino with a Tour Card, there is growing darting strength in the nation as seen by the likes of Lourence Ilagan and Noel Malicdem among others. Ilagan especially has shown a lot of potential in the past and Perez admits he'd like to see his compatriot take a crack at Q-School like he did. "I told him to go for it!" Perez explains. "I let him know to you have to have that Tour Card to play against the world's best. A lot of Filipino players, they're good but they don't want to play Q-School yet. Hopefully someday, they will join Q-School and have their own Tour Card too and get involved in Pro Tour."

Probably the biggest issue preventing a true breakout star in Asian darts, is the fact the Pro Tour is based in the UK and Germany, meaning like Perez, they'd have to uproot their life halfway across the world. "Currently, I stay in Bristol,'' says Perez of his own situation. "I arrived in UK last February and now I stay here until the end of the year to participate for the Pro Tour. It was hard, because it needs a lot of sacrifice to be away from your family and also the expenses for traveling around, but I think I can handle it."

Indeed, Perez has more than shown he can handle it despite the limited opportunities. A semifinalist on the Pro Tour in 2023, Perez also made it to the third round of the UK Open in 2024 and has come through the gruelling qualifying system for Euro Tour events. "I want to prove something. I'm good at this and I don't want to waste my time here, I just want to win some something to be proud of," he concludes defiantly. "I will definitely finish the year here playing the rest of the Pro Tour. If I make it to the top 64 then great, but if not, I'm going to play Q-School again next year and to try to win my Tour Card back again. Let's see how how it goes."