Winning a title without scoring a single 180? Alain Abiabi completes task for second time on Asian Tour

180s are a hugely important score in darts. Filling the treble 20 bed with three accurate darts give players the edge and sends their score tumbling down. Nevertheless, in Alain Abiabi's case, hitting a maximum is completely irrelevant as he went on to win a brace of Asian Tour titles without scoring a single 180.

Scoring is the be-all or end-all in darts. If you cannot finish the leg, then 180s are just a cheap way of getting the crowd off their feat. It can be crucial getting down to the double quicker with this firepower a well-known strength for many darters.

For Abiabi, his trip to Mongolia was a very positive one, following a trend completed a year ago. Back in 2025, he won the Asian Tour 16 title without finding a 180. This has turned out not to be a standalone feat with the Filippino going without any maximums for the whole of the recent Asian Tour 14.

Averaging in the low-mid 80's throughout the day, scoring was not the name of the game for Abiabi. He reached the quarter-final where Altantülkhüür Myagmarsüren was thrashed 4-0. Lok Yin Lee was next with a 5-3 triumph which set up a final against Paolo Nebrida. A darter from the Philippines would lift the crown, and it would be Abiabi despite his scoring power not being at his absolute best. Despite this, a comprehensive 5-1 win was the perfect way to end the day on.

The next day in Asian Tour 15 and 16, he managed a brace of quarter-finals, unable to get another title under his belt.

This task has only been completed by Abiabi on the Asian Tour. Ganzorig Lkhagvasüren, who became the first player from Mongolia to win on the Asian Tour, completed it in the eighth event of 2026 while pinning just a single 180.

Man Lok Leung, who has competed in the PDC World Darts Championship twice, won Asian Tour 20 in 2023 despite hitting just two maximums.

In truth, scoring is crucial in darts. You need to get down to a double quickly to give yourself the best opportunity to finish off the leg and even time if your opponent is struggling to find the treble bed. However, finding the double is no mean feat. Abiabi's title run in Mongolia should deserve some recognition for this.