By MARK REY MONTEJO
Mindanao’s top guns Christian Perez and Alexis Toylo opened their Euro campaign on a high note after beating Singapore’s Harith and Paul Lim, 4-1, in the 2024 World Cup of Darts at Frankfurt’s Eissporthalle in Germany on Friday, June 28.
Koronadal City pride Perez and Cagayan de Oro’s Toylo showed deadly marksmanship to smother their Singaporean rivals in a win that certainly gave the PH team an added zest when they battle fifth-seeded Belgium in the next round.
The 40-team tournament offers €80,000 (around P5 million) to the grand winner.
The Belgians — Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts – also beat the Singaporeans, 4-2, on Thursday, making their showdown with the Filipinos on Saturday more interesting.
Perez, who is the lone Filipino carrying a PDC Pro Tour card, is hoping to sustain their momentum against the Belgians.
The Nationals had a smooth sailing in the opening rack, thanks to Perez’s impeccable performance but the Singaporeans tied the count at 1-all.
Though the momentum was on Singapore’s side, the 42-year-old Perez and Toylo exhibited great poise in the next rack before capping their win with Toylo’s 20-darter in the fifth rack much to the delight of their supporters.
Last year, Perez and former partner Lourence Ilagan reached Round of 16. Unfortunately, they stumbled to Peter Wright and Gary Anderson of Scotland, 8-5.
