By MARK REY MONTEJO
Veteran Christian Perez made his presence felt in Europe by reaching the quarterfinal round in his debut in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) Pro Tour in Hildesheim, Germany recently.
The newest sporting pride of Koronadal City in South Cotabato, Perez stunned some of the elite darters around the world before losing to British Connor Scutt, 6-3, in a thrilling Round-of-8 contest that delighted the spectators.
Still, Perez’s quarterfinal finish was something to be proud of especially after his huge 6-5 win over British former world champion Rob Cross.
His other victims were British Luke Woodhouse (6-2), No. 58 Jamie Hughes (6-1), and Czech Karel Sedlacek (6-3).
Thorsten Pe, also a darter from Koronadal, is hoping the success of Perez in Europe will serve as a fuel to revive the popularity of the sport in the country.
Michael Smith went on to rule the event after beating Scutt in the semis.
In the Event 14, Perez faltered and was shown the door by Portuguese Jose de Sousa, 6-1.
Perez, along with fellow Filipino Lourence Ilagan, will now be tested when they compete in the My Diesel Claim World Cup of Darts that started yesterday, June 15 until Sunday, June 18.
Perez has been winning titles in major competitions here and abroad since 2010, becoming one of Asia’s top players.
