Lourence Ilagan retained his PDC Asian Championship title with victory over Alexis Toylo in Qingdao on Sunday.
The fourth staging of the PDC Asian Championship saw the continent’s biggest names going head-to-head in China, as two of the most prolific stars on the Asian Tour circuit went head-to-head in Sunday’s showpiece.
However, it was Ilagan who ran out a 7-4 winner against his fellow Filipino to retain his crown and secure his Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts return.
Ilagan eased through the round-robin phase on Saturday with resounding wins over Jia Xing Phung and Sonny Balagat, before he dumped out 2022 champion Christian Perez in the last 16 to reach Finals Day.
Following a convincing 6-2 win against Sho Okano, Ilagan overcame Motomu Sakai in the semi-finals, reeling off four consecutive legs from 4-2 adrift to set up a showdown against Toylo.
Ilagan made a terrific start to the contest, producing consecutive 12-darters to establish a 3-1 cushion, and he extended that lead to 5-2 as Toylo faltered on the outer ring.
The left-hander responded with back-to-back legs to reduce the deficit to 5-4, only for Ilagan to capitalise on further missed opportunities from his compatriot to close out a hard-fought victory.
Toylo kicked off his campaign with wins over Kam Weng Cheng and Royden Lam in the group phase, before storming through to the quarter-finals with a five-leg whitewash of Mikuru Suzuki.
The 33-year-old then won through a brace of deciding-leg ties against Qingyu Zhan and Paul Lim, defying a valiant fightback from the Singapore veteran in the semi-finals.
Lim accounted for China’s premier player Xiaochen Zong and Japanese star Ryusei Azemoto in his run to the semi-finals, before pushing Toylo all the way in a gruelling semi-final showdown.
The 71-year-old was joined in the last four by Sakai, who defeated Hong Kong’s Man Lok Leung in a high-quality quarter-final tussle.
Ilagan and Toylo were already assured of their World Championship qualification prior to the PDC Asian Championship, sealing their spots on the Asian Tour rankings alongside Sakai, Azemoto and Lim.
Ilagan will also make his Grand Slam of Darts return in November, as a star-studded 32-player field compete for the coveted Eric Bristow Trophy at Wolverhampton’s WV Active Aldersley.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s World Cup quarter-finalist Leung and three-time World Championship qualifier Paolo Nebrida claimed the remaining World Championship qualification spots as the next-best-placed non-qualified players on the PDC Asian Tour rankings.
2025 PDC Asian Championship
Sunday September 14
Qingdao China
Last 16
Alexis Toylo 5-0 Mikuru Suzuki
Qingyu Zhan 5-0 Tomoya Goto
Ryusei Azemoto 5-0 Abiabi Alain
Paul Lim 5-2 Xiaochen Zong
Lourence Ilagan 5-3 Christian Perez
Sho Okano 5-3 Paolo Nebrida
Motomu Sakai 5-2 Yuta Hayashi
Man Lok Leung 5-3 Chi-Jui Tseng
Quarter-Finals
Alexis Toylo 6-5 Qingyu Zhan
Paul Lim 6-4 Ryusei Azemoto
Lourence Ilagan 6-2 Sho Okano
Motomu Sakai 6-3 Man Lok Leung
Semi-Finals
Alexis Toylo 6-5 Paul Lim
Lourence Ilagan 6-4 Motomu Sakai
Final
Lourence Ilagan 7-4 Alexis Toylo