Mohd-Nasir Bin Jantan created history in Singapore last weekend, claiming a brace of titles to become the first Malaysian player to triumph on the PDC Asian Tour.
The Forest Darts Cafe played host to the year's sixth PDC Asian Tour weekend from July 1-2, which saw Bin Jantan announce his arrival with victory in Events 16 & 18.
The Malaysian was making his first appearance on the Asian Tour in 2023, but he catapulted himself up to ninth on the Order of Merit after claiming $4,300 from the weekend’s treble-header.
Bin Jantan made the perfect start to his 2023 campaign with Event 16 success on Saturday, defeating last year’s PDC Asian Championship runner-up Paolo Nebrida to secure the $2,000 top prize.
He conceded just three legs in reaching the last 16, before dispatching Hong Kong’s World Cup duo Man Lok Leung and Lok Yin Lee to reach the semi-finals, where he accounted for Singapore icon Paul Lim.
Japan’s emerging star Tomoya Goto then celebrated his maiden Asian Tour title in Sunday’s Event 17, overcoming Philippines’ Alexis Toylo to move up to fourth on the Order of Merit.
Goto – who represented Japan at last month’s World Cup of Darts – followed up a deciding-leg win over Singapore’s Chee Hoe Liew with a battling 4-2 victory against Nitin Kumar.
The 26-year-old continued his charge with wins over the Filipino trio of Reynaldo Rivera, Donjem Dimaculangan and Toylo, taking out 83, 96, 120 and 145 to topple Toylo 5-3 in the Event 17 decider.
Japan’s Haruki Muramatsu produced the performance of the day in Singapore, averaging 109.31 in his 4-0 rout of Randy Mirabueno Juanata, before succumbing to his compatriot Jun Matsuda in the last 16.
Matsuda also defeated Bin Jantan in a high-quality quarter-final tie, only for the Malaysian trailblazer to return to winning ways in Event 18, defeating Nebrida in a repeat of the Event 16 showpiece.
Bin Jantan also repeated his wins over Leung and Lee on Sunday afternoon, while coming through last-leg deciders against Keita Ono and Dimaculangan to continue his progress.
Bin Jantan raced into an early lead against Nebrida, and although the former World Championship qualifier reduced the arrears to 3-2, legs of 16 and 13 darts inspired the newcomer to glory with a 94 average.
Lourence Ilagan retains a $2,800 lead at the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit with six events remaining, ahead of second-place Matsuda and Hong Kong prospect Leung.
Goto has moved above three-time World Championship qualifier Kumar into fourth, while Nebrida climbs to eighth after appearing in two of the weekend’s three finals.
The top four players from the final 2023 PDC Asian Tour Order of Merit will qualify automatically for the 2023/24 World Darts Championship, as the race for Alexandra Palace qualification intensifies.
The penultimate weekend of the year’s PDC Asian Tour action will take place in Bangsaen, Thailand, from July 29-30, with live streaming coverage of Events 19-21 available from the last 16 onwards.
2023 PDC Asian Tour
Saturday July 1
Forest Darts Cafe, Singapore
Event 16
Quarter-Finals
Paolo Nebrida 4-0 Ryuta Arihara
Sandro Eric Sosing 4-1 Reynaldo Rivera
Paul Lim 4-3 Jun Matsuda
Mohd Nasir Bin Jantan 4-2 Lok Yin Lee
Semi-Finals
Paolo Nebrida 5-0 Sandro Eric Sosing
Mohd Nasir Bin Jantan 5-1 Paul Lim
Final
Mohd Nasir Bin Jantan 5-3 Paolo Nebrida
Sunday July 2
Event 17
Quarter-Finals
Donjem Dimaculangan 4-3 Paolo Nebrida
Tomoya Goto 4-2 Reynaldo Rivera
Jun Matsuda 4-1 Mohd Nasir Bin Jantan
Alexis Toylo 4-2 Sonny Balagat
Semi-Finals
Tomoya Goto 5-3 Donjem Dimaculangan
Alexis Toylo 5-0 Jun Matsuda
Final
Tomoya Goto 5-3 Alexis Toylo
Event 18
Quarter-Finals
Paolo Nebrida 4-0 Christian Perez
Rosendo Lubaton 4-2 Alex Tagarao
Donjem Dimaculangan 4-1 Haruki Muramatsu
Mohd Nasir Bin Jantan 4-2 Lok Yin Lee
Semi-Finals
Paolo Nebrida 5-4 Rosendo Lubaton
Mohd Nasir Bin Jantan 5-4 Donjem Dimaculangan
Final
Mohd Nasir Bin Jantan 5-2 Paolo Nebrida