Macau darter pulls off a stunning upset with World Darts Championship qualification; Paolo Nebrida wins Asian Championship and clinches a second World Darts Championship berth

PDC
Tuesday, 15 September 2026 at 08:09
Kam Weng Cheng
Paolo Nebrida has won the PDC Asian Championship. The Filipino secured not only a spot at the World Darts Championship with the title, but also a place at November’s Grand Slam of Darts. There was a historic moment too for Kam Weng Cheng, who became the first ever player from Macau to claim a World Championship spot
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After the regular Asian Tour season, the fifth edition of the Asian Championship took centre stage. Defending champion Lourence Ilagan impressed in the group phase despite an inconsistent year, firing averages of 101.55 and 103.47. He advanced to the last 32 as a group winner. For the likes of Motomu Sakai, Lok Yin Lee, Paul Lim, Tomoya Goto, and Xiaochen Zong, the tournament ended before the knockout phase.
From the last 32 onwards, the stakes were high. Both finalists would book a place at the Worlds. Nebrida took matters into his own hands. “Pow” saw off Yan Bin Chen (2-1), Joel Hizon (2-1), and Christian Perez (2-0). In the semi-finals he faced Noel Malicdem, who was back within sight of Ally Pally for the first time since 2019.
Malicdem missed three set darts in the opener, and Nebrida pounced. The Filipino then held his own set to seal his place in the final and confirm his World Championship berth.

Historic milestone for Cheng

On the other side of the draw, several favourites fell. Man Lok Leung lost 2-1 to Sonny Milo Balagat, while Alexis Toylo was swept aside 2-0 by Ilagan. Ilagan then also bowed out 2-1 to Balagat.
Cheng halted Balagat’s surge and unexpectedly reached the semi-finals. There he met Ryusei Azemoto, who had earlier escaped against Rolly Gabiana after the latter missed ten match darts.
Azemoto took the first set, but Cheng hit back hard. A clinical 11-darter helped him sweep the second set 3-0. In the deciding leg of set three, the man from Macau finished the job with a 98 checkout in two darts for a 14-darter. That made him the first player from Macau to qualify for the World Darts Championship.
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The final carried a Grand Slam spot in addition to the title. Nebrida edged the first set in five legs and then powered through the next two sets convincingly. He can now prepare for both the Worlds and the Grand Slam of Darts in November.

Results PDC Asian Championship 2026

Final
Paolo Nebrida (85.93) 3 VS 0 (83.54) Kam Weng Chen
Semi-finals
Paolo Nebrida (86.32) 2 VS 0 (86.39) Noel Malicdem
Kam Weng Chen (83.74) 2 VS 1 (80.33) Ryusei Azemoto
Quarter-finals
Noel Malicdem (84.58) 2 VS 0 (78.44) Jenn Ming Tan
Paolo Nebrida (89.40) 2 VS 0 (84.76) Christian Perez
Kam Weng Chen (74.66) 2 VS 0 (74.20) Sonny Milo Balagat
Ryusei Azemoto (89.95) 2 VS 1 (89.20) Rolly Gabiana
Last 16
Noel Malicdem (83.97) 2 VS 1 (81.27) Ryuta Arihara
Jenn Ming Tan (87.55) 2 VS 0 (66.76) Jizhou Li
Christian Perez (94.29) 2 VS 1 (91.08) Haruki Muramatsu
Paolo Nebrida (81.12) 2 VS 1 (74.58) Joel Hizon
Kam Weng Chen (77.91) 2 VS 0 (77.65) Pin Feng Yeh
Sonny Milo Balagat (88.65) 2 VS 1 (85.84) Lourence Ilagan
Rolly Gabiana (84.41) 2 VS 0 (76.05) Ting Chi Royden Lam
Ryusei Azemoto (96.97) 2 VS 0 (71.00) Eduardo Largo
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