Ian Perez faces Per Laursen in the Preliminary Round of the 2010 World Darts Championship

The preliminary round draw has already been made and Christian "Ian" Perez is set to face a formidable opponent in the person of Per Laursen from Denmark. Laursen is not new to the PDC World Championship as he has represented Denmark for 3 consecutive years since 2007. In 2007, he came past the first round at the expense of Colin Monk (3-0) but eventually dispatched by Dennis "The Menace" Priestley in the second round. His last two outings in the PDC World Championship were not so brilliant as he only reached the first round losing to Alan Tabern and Wes Newton in 2008 and 2009 respectively. But make no mistake about his darting skills as he has had some success in tournaments in his home country. His resume is a proof that it will not be a walk in the park for Ian Perez in the prelims. Perez should be bringing out the best in his arsenal early on to thump Per Laursen en route to the next round.

Preliminary Round Draw (Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship)

Per Laursen (Denmark) v Christian Perez (Philippines)
Ken MacNeil (Canada) v Norman Madhoo (Guyana)
Jarkko Komula (Finland) v Roman Konchikov (Russia)
Haruki Muramatsu (Japan) v Kryzsztof Kcuik (Poland)
Tomas Seyler (Germany) v Chinese Qualifier
Magnus Caris (Sweden) v Francisco Ruiz (Spain)
Aodhagan O'Neill (Ireland) v Les Francis (South Africa)
Phillip Hazel (New Zealand) v Osmann Kijamet (Slovenia)

Philippine Qualifier to the World Darts Championship Update

Any moment from now, NDFP (National Darts Federation of the Philippines) will officially announce the Philippines' representative to the World Darts Championship in Alexandra Palace, London, England. The qualifying event will be finally concluded today as scheduled. Several darters from around the nation bear witness of the qualifying event as it was staged together with the free-registration Darterong Pinoy tournament. Yesterday, the top ten qualifiers went of round robin format to determine the top 4 who will go through a step ladder for the finale of the event. Adding new blood in the top ten is the 2-time National Youth singles Champion, Jaypee Detablan (UDT), who showed class in his form beating veteran darters with a lone loss to Jojo Barellano. Sadly, he won't be allowed to advance to the next phase of the competion owing to a violation of playing agreement. Playing agreement number 1 states :

"1.. I understand that it is mandatory to furnish a readable copy of my valid passport with over 6 month expiration from December 18, 2009 upon reaching the Top 10 of the elimination round in anticipation of the limited visa processing time. I am fully aware that my failure to comply with this vital requirement negates any right from my side to participate and further continue the said competition;"

This unfortunate fate shouldn't bother the youngster since I am sure that we'll see more of him in the next years to come.

Oh, by the way, the Winmau World Masters semi-finalist Lourence "The Gunner" Ilagan did not see action in the Qualifying event. The reason was not publicly disclosed but I speculate that this has something to do with him participating in BDO sanctioned event. Same goes to Roland "Arvy" Briones who won two WDF-sanctioned events this year (2009 French and Korean Open respectively).

Newsfeed: Ian Perez (runner-up of the Shanghai International Darts Open) of Team Robson defeated a fellow Robson player, Celso "Boie" Parfan to advance to the Championship match against Rizal "Jojo" Barellano. Jojo Barellano was our first Wildcard to the World Darts Championship last 2008. It will be Jojo's second appearance at the Ally Pally should he win his match against Ian Perez.

World Darts Championship - Philippine Qualifier

In less than two weeks time, we will know who will be the Philippines' bet to the 2010 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship this coming December 18,2009 - January 3,2010 at Alexandra Palace, London, England. NDFP is holding the qualifier simultaneously with Darterong Pinoy on November 5-8 at Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall in Cainta, Rizal.

Click here for the event details.

World Darts Championship

It is sad to think that we might not have a representative to the renowned World Darts Championship this year. The president of NDFP, Mr. Tito Soncuya, himself revealed in its site's forum that PDC has not yet sent an invitation (via Solar Sports) for a wildcard entry from our country. He further explained that for the past two years, they received the said invation as early as May or June. Even the PDC website does not indicate if Philippines will be given a wild card representative. NDFP's website does not also contain information as to whether a national elimination will be held as they are not sure yet if we will be granted an entry this year.
A sad news indeed. But I am still hoping that we will be given another chance in that pretigious tournament moreso that some of our local talents are now slowly recognized in the international darting scene. The invitation should come out now so NDFP can still hold a national elimination to give all aspiring darters equal chance. This is one of the major events which most Pinoy Darters are looking forward to.
Should there be a qualifying event this year, I would like to see Lourence Ilagan, Arvy Briones, Boie Parfan, and Boy Gionzon in the last four to engage in a battle for the lone World Darts Championship wildcard.