PDC Asian Tour number one Alexis Toylo has qualified for the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship for the first time in his career. He is one of several players from the Asian Tour that will make their debut in the tournament this year.
It has been an excellent season for Toylo. He started 2024 by winning five of the opening 11 events on the Asian Tour. The man from the Philippines is a long way clear of his rivals on the Order of Merit in Asia.
Tough Opening Game for Toylo
“Cool Cat” as he is nicknamed on the PDC Tour, is 1000/1 in the World Darts betting odds to cause a huge upset and lift the trophy in London. He will begin his campaign in the opening round against the Netherlands’ Richard Veenstra.
In what is the final tie on the first round schedule, Toylo is 11/4 in the darts odds to prevail against the world number 47. Veenstra is a former winner of the Dutch Open, and he reached the third round of the World Darts Championship last season, eventually exiting to fellow Dutch compatriot Michael van Gerwen.
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The winner of the Toylo-Veenstra contest will face Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski in the second round. They are also in the same quarter as former world champion Michael Smith, who is the number two seed this year.
Toylo gained some valuable experience in a major PDC event back in June. He paired up with Christian Perez to represent the Philippines at the World Cup of Darts. They defeated Singapore in their group stage tie, but defeat to Belgium meant they did not advance to the knockout stages
Ilagan Set for Ninth World Darts Championship Appearance
12-time PDC Asian Tour winner Lourence Ilagan is set for his ninth appearance at the World Darts Championship this year. He first made his debut in 2009, losing in the preliminary round to Marko Kantele.
The furthest Ilagan has gone at the Alexandra Palace is the second round, which he achieved in 2023. He defeated Austrian player Rowby-John Rodriguez in the first round, before losing to Dimitri Van den Bergh.
The highlight of 2024 for Ilagan has been his victory in the PDC Asian Championship. He got the better of Sandro Eric Sosing in the final 7-3. That triumph earned him an entry into the Grand Slam of Darts. Unfortunately for the man from the Philippines, he lost all three of his group-stage matches in Wolverhampton.
Kumar, Flying the Flag for India
The only Indian player in the draw for the 2025 World Darts Championship is Nitin Kumar. This will be his fourth appearance in the tournament, with his last coming in 2022 when he lost to Ricky Evans in the opening round.
Kumar represented India at the 2014 and 2015 World Cup of Darts. If victorious against Martin Lukeman in the first round of the World Darts Championship, he will become the first place from his country to reach the second round.
The 2025 World Darts Championship concludes on the 3rd of January, and everybody involved with the PDC Asian Tour will be hoping the tournament produces its first-ever Asian winner.
