Ryusei Azemoto narrowly missed out on qualification for the
World Darts Championship in painful fashion. The 30-year-old Japanese player won three consecutive tournaments during the Steel Tour Japan 2026 finale and put together a superb winning run, but ultimately fell one title short of overhauling Motomu Sakai for top spot.
Ahead of the final four events, Azemoto’s task was clear and brutally tough. He had to win all four titles to leapfrog compatriot Sakai and force a return to Alexandra Palace.
Sakai himself was absent from the finale in Kanagawa after competing at the World Series of Darts Finals last weekend. His Worlds berth was already secured thanks to his second place on the PDC Asian Tour.
Even so, Azemoto turned it into a compelling chase. He launched his charge by taking Event 9. In the semi-finals he edged Taiga Ajiki in a deciding leg, then beat Hiroki Kaneko 5-3 in the final.
Azemoto keeps on winning
A second title followed later the same day. Event 10 again forced Azemoto to dig deep. He trailed Shunta Takayama 4-3 in the semi-finals, but a 13-darter and a 103 checkout turned the match around.
His streak looked set to end in the final. Atsushi Takeuchi led 4-2 and had multiple match darts in leg seven. Azemoto survived those chances and battled through to the title.
Event 11 also fell to the Tokyo thrower. Azemoto extended his winning run to eighteen matches, surviving two more last-leg deciders along the way. In the final he met PDC Asian Tour champion Ryuta Arihara, who he beat 5-3.
That left Azemoto with three of the four required titles and his remarkable escape route to the Worlds still alive.
Ryusei Azemoto has played the World Darts Championship twice before
Streak ends at the decisive moment
At Event 12, Azemoto initially maintained his outstanding form. He dropped only seven legs across his first five matches. His streak had reached 23 matches.
It all came down to the final against Yuta Hayashi. Only a fourth straight tournament win would be enough to dislodge Sakai from first place.
This time the deficit proved too great. Azemoto fell 3-0 behind and later 4-2. Where he had repeatedly mounted comebacks in previous events, it wouldn’t come off at the crucial moment. Hayashi won the final 5-3, halting Azemoto’s impressive run.
As a result, Sakai finished top of the Steel Tour Japan 2026 rankings and claimed the associated World Championship qualifying spot. Azemoto, who made his second Worlds appearance last December, missed out on a return to Alexandra Palace despite three titles on the spin.
The outcome also brings good news for
Man Lok Leung. Because Sakai takes his Worlds ticket via the Steel Tour Japan, his Asian Tour qualification place rolls down to the highest-ranked player not yet qualified. That is Leung.
The Hong Kong thrower, who previously reached the World Cup of Darts quarter-finals with his country and produced an upset at the 2023/24 Worlds by beating Gian van Veen, will now make his third World Championship appearance in December.