Asian & China Tours 2018
THE Professional Darts Corporation’s global expansion will continue in 2018 with the introduction of the PDC Asian Tour.
The growth of steel-tip darts in the region in recent years has included World Series of Darts events in China and Japan and inclusion for players from across the region in the World Championship and World Cup of Darts. The PDC Asian Tour will feature six weekends of two events in 2018, beginning in Seoul on March 10-11, with a season-ending World Championship Qualifier to find four players for the sport’s biggest event.
Further PDC Asian Tour events will be held in Macao, Kobe, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei and China mainland throughout the year, giving greater opportunities for Asian players in the steel-tip format. Each weekend will feature one event per day, with $10,000 in prize money on offer including $3,600 to the winner, while the format will see best of seven leg matches played throughout each event in a step towards the PDC’s professional circuit.
“It’s fantastic to see the ongoing growth of professional darts worldwide continuing with the introduction of the PDC Asian Tour,” said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
“The potential for darts across Asia is huge, and this new tour will provide vital experience for players in addition to the exposure they are currently receiving to PDC events.” The new PDC Asian Tour has been backed by Singapore’s Paul Lim, who starred recently in the World Championship and has been the region’s most successful player.
“It is huge,” said Lim. “This tour is going to be the biggest news for Asian darts.
“I think right now, with what is going on in the world of darts, it has fed over to Asia and is creating a little bit of a frenzy. “Steel-tip darts is catching on now in Asian darts. It has always been more popular with electronic darts, but I think it’s going to be exciting for steel-tip to be over in Asia.
“It will create that next level, which is what the PDC is about. It’s the biggest thing that ever happened in Asia.” For entry information, international players please visit www.pdc-asia.tv and local Korean players please visit www.darts.or.kr. (Open from Feb 1)
PDC Asian Tour 2018
Seoul, South Korea – 10th/11th March
Tour 1: Ting Chi Royden Lam 5-3 Noel Malicdem (9 Darter Malicdem)
Tour 2: Sergio Asada 5-4 Hyun-Chul Park
Macau, China – 28th/29th April
Tour 3: Lourence Ilagan 5-2 Alexis Toylo
Tour 4: Lourence Ilagan 5-1 Royden Lam
Kobe, Japan – 23rd/24th June
Tour 5: Ting Chi Royden Lam 5 – 3 Seigo Asada
Tour 6: Noel Malicdem 5 – 0 Daisuke Akamatsu
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – 18th/19th August
Tour 7: Seigo Asada 5-2 Royden Lam
Tour 8: Lourence Ilagan 5-1 Royden Lam
Taipei, Taiwan – 22nd/23rd September
Tour 9: Seigo Asada 5-4 Paul Lim
Tour 10: Paul Lim 5-3 Lourence Ilagan
Manila, Phillipines 11th/12th October
Tour 11:
Tour 12:
Asian Tour Order of Merit CLICK HERE
Current Top 8
(The top 4 after the 12 events qualify for the William Hill World Championship)
1-Lourence Ilagan $12,300
2-Royden Lam $10,830
3-Seigo Asada $9,770
4-Noel Malicdem $6,320
5-Alexis Toylo $2,200
6-Daisuke Akamatsu $1,930
7-Paolo Nebrida $1,870
8-Teng Lieh Pupo $1,810
PDC China Tour 2018
DARTS players in China will receive greater opportunities in 2018 following the introduction of a new PDC China circuit as the PDC’s expansion continues.
The sport’s growth in the Far East has been boosted in recent years, with World Series of Darts events in Shanghai, Japan and Singapore accompanied by a domestic circuit in China and this year’s new PDC Asian Tour.
Following a new partnership between the PDC and Madison Communications, the PDC China circuit will feature qualifying events for four PDC televised events alongside three domestic tournaments and an end-of-season Grand Final.
The action will begin with a Betway World Cup of Darts Qualifier on May 7 in Shanghai, where two players will win the right to represent their country in Frankfurt.
The PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship Qualifier will then take place on July 11 in Shanghai ahead of the qualifiers for the Shanghai Darts Masters, which will be held on July 13-14.
The Shanghai Darts Masters will be the third stop on the PDC’s World Series of Darts circuit this year, as eight top PDC stars take on eight of the region’s leading players.
Three PDC China events will then be held in August, September and October ahead of December’s Grand Final, while there will also be a William Hill World Darts Championship Qualifier in November.
“Darts in China is beginning to gain a foothold following the developments in recent years, and this partnership is another positive step for the sport,” said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
“Madison Communications have been our partner in the successful staging of the Shanghai Darts Masters for the past two years, and they are as keen as us to see the sport’s continued growth.
“The Shanghai Darts Masters will be the region’s flagship tournament this year, but with places in the World Cup, World Championship and World Youth Championship again on offer there is great scope for Chinese players to increase their competitive experience alongside darts’ biggest names.”
Entry details and further information will be confirmed in due course.
2018 PDC China Dates
May 6 – Betway World Cup of Darts Qualifier (for Chinese mainland players only)
July 11 – PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship Qualifier
July 12 – Shanghai Darts Masters Qualifier
July 13-14 Shanghai Darts Masters
TBC August – PDC China Event One
TBC September – PDC China Event Two
TBC October – PDC China Event Three
TBC November – William Hill World Darts Championship Qualifier (for players from Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao)
TBC December – PDC China Grand Final
https://www.pdc.tv/news/2018/02/14/2018-pdc-china-tour-confirmed
