Paul Lim extended his lead at the top of the PDC Asian Tour Order of Merit with victory in Kuala Lumpur last weekend, as Reynaldo Rivera, Ryusei Azemoto and Keita Ono also celebrated titles.
The third of six double-header weekends took place in Malaysia on May 3-4, as over 130 players competed in Events 9-12 at the Corus Hotel.
Singapore icon Lim occupied top spot on the Asian Tour Order of Merit ahead of this weekend’s action, and he cemented that position with Event 12 glory on Sunday.
The 71-year-old clinched his second Asian Tour title of the year with a deciding-leg victory over Brunei’s Ak Muhd Hamdi Bin Pg Masshor, recovering from 2-0 and 3-2 down to triumph.
This was preceded by wins over Yan Bin Chen and Ryusei Azemoto in the semi-finals and quarter-finals respectively, while he also edged out Ryuta Arihara and Chi-Jui Tseng in deciding-leg ties.
The weekend’s opening event was won by former World Championship qualifier Rivera, who edged out Abdul Qahar Ukail Hj Shamsul Ariffin in a decider to clinch his third Asian Tour title.
The 46-year-old followed up a skin-saving 99 finish with a 14-darter to take the Event Nine title, having recorded another comeback win over Japan’s Tomoya Goto in the semi-finals.
Rivera also claimed the scalp of Lim in the last eight, after kicking off his campaign with successive 4-2 victories against Ono and Ting Chi Royden Lam.
Japanese duo Ono and Azemoto also claimed silverware in Kuala Lumpur, with Azemoto producing one of the best performances in Asian Tour history to secure Event Ten success.
Azemoto averaged 111.83 to dispatch Pupo Teng-Lieh in Saturday’s showpiece, winning his last four legs in 13, 13, 14 and 11 darts to register the second-highest average in Asian Tour history.
The World Cup star also averaged 97 in his third round win against Fatt Tau Lim, before denying Mitsuhiko Tatsunami and Haruki Muramatsu in the latter stages, overturning a 3-0 deficit to stun Tatsunami.
Azemoto subsequently moves up to third on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, while Ono sits in second spot following his Event 11 triumph on Sunday.
Ono – also an Event Eight winner in April – doubled his title tally with a resounding 5-2 victory against Tengku Shah, reeling off four consecutive legs to seal the deal.
The 37-year-old also swept aside Lam in the semi-finals, after backing up deciding-leg wins over Yuta Hayashi and Huang Chun-Yao with a 4-2 success against Motomu Sakai in the quarter-finals.
Following the conclusion of Event 12, Lim boasts a significant lead at the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit, with Ono, Azemoto and Lourence Ilagan making up the current top four.
The 2025 PDC Asian Tour continues with Events 13-16 in Ulaanbaatar on May 17-18, and coverage of each event will be shown live on PDCTV from the last 16 onwards.
2025 PDC Asian Tour
Saturday May 3, Kuala Lumpur
Event Nine
Quarter-Finals
Aris Quijano 4-3 Faizal Mohamad
Abdul Qahar Ukail Hj Shamsul Ariffin 4-0 Ak Muhd Hamdi Bin Pg Masshor
Reynaldo Rivera 4-2 Paul Lim
Tomoya Goto 4-1 Noel Malicdem
Semi-Finals
Abdul Qahar Ukail Hj Shamsul Ariffin 5-3 Aris Quijano
Reynaldo Rivera 5-3 Tomoya Goto
Final
Reynaldo Rivera 5-4 Abdul Qahar Ukail Hj Shamsul Ariffin
Event Ten
Quarter-Finals
Haruki Muramatsu 4-2 Lok Yin Lee
Ryusei Azemoto 4-3 Mitsuhiko Tatsunami
Takayuki Masatsu 4-3 Keita Ono
Pupo Teng-Lieh 4-3 Tomoya Goto
Semi-Finals
Ryusei Azemoto 5-2 Haruki Muramatsu
Pupo Teng-Lieh 5-0 Takayuki Masatsu
Final
Ryusei Azemoto 5-1 Pupo Teng-Lieh
Sunday May 4
Event 11
Quarter-Finals
Tengku Shah 4-2 Zulrizan Azdan
Alexis Toylo 4-1 Paolo Nebrida
Keita Ono 4-2 Motomu Sakai
Ting Chi Royden Lam 4-1 Sarayut Ouamuapa
Semi-Finals
Tengku Shah 5-4 Alexis Toylo
Keita Ono 5-1 Ting Chi Royden Lam
Final
Keita Ono 5-2 Tengku Shah
Event 12
Quarter-Finals
Keita Ono 4-3 Mohd Nasir Jantan
Ak Muhd Hamdi Bin Pg Masshor 4-3 Kam Weng Cheng
Paul Lim 4-2 Ryusei Azemoto
Yan Bin Chen 4-1 Zulrizan Azdan
Semi-Finals
Ak Muhd Hamdi Bin Pg Masshor 5-1 Keita Ono
Paul Lim 5-2 Yan Bin Chen
Final
Paul Lim 5-4 Ak Muhd Hamdi Bin Pg Masshor