By Waylon Galvez
Filipino online karate sensation James De los Santos advanced to the final round in two tournaments, including the prestigious SportData E-Tournament World Series where he will face world No. 1 Eduardo Garcia of Portugal.
De los Santos defeated Hugh Connolly of Ireland in the semifinal of the World Series, 24.3-23.8, and then scored a 24.5-23.1 victory against Chrisley Philippart of Belgium in the Mitad Del Mundo Hatamoto Kai eTournament.
“I am going to the finals of the Hatamoto Kai tournament and the World Series finals,” said De los Santos.
“The SportData E-Tournament is the most prestigious eTournament because the amount of ranking points given is x4, and I’m facing my rival from Portugal in the final showdown.”
“It’s the fourth time that I’ll be facing him in the final.”
The last time they clashed was during the Athletes E-Tournament finals where the Filipino scored a stunning 25-24.9 win for his fourth gold medal last month.
The former national team member now has eight gold medals.
Aside from the Athletes E-Tournament, De los Santos also bagged gold in the Miyamoto Musashi Five Rings, the 2nd Dutch Open E-Tournament and E-Champions Trophy World Series early this month, e-Karate Games 2020 last month, the Balkan Open eTournament last July, the Korokotta Cup last June and the Palestine International Karate Cup last April.
