CHRISTIAN PEREZ - 2014 DARTER OF THE YEAR

Christian Perez wins the Chris Sports Darter of the Year as Prussian Arceño fails to win enough points to overhaul the slim 31 points lead of Christian Perez. Going to the final 2014 NDFP ranking tournament,   the 1M Congressman Manny Pacquiao Philippine Darts Open, Prussian Arceño only needed 32 ranking points, with the absence of Christian Perez, to win the Darter of the Year Award.  Christian Perez skipped the 1M Manny Pacquiao Tournament as he left for London for the World Darts Championship on the day the Open Singles was played.

There were 241 registered players for the Open Singles of the 1M Manny Pacquiao Tournament. With the number of registered players and total cash prize, Arceño needed to reach the top 16 to earn 32 ranking points.  Bong Gabiana needed 95 ranking points, thus by winning the championship he wins 96 ranking points and the Darter of the Year Award should Arceño fail to reach top 16. Boie Parfan, Andy Villamor, and Alexis Toylo dropped out of contention with the 241 player registration.

Prussian Arceño was very tentative and cautious from the start, reflective of a tremendous pressure he was carrying. He won over Boy Gionzon in a decisive 7th leg and overcame less known players but not in the same fashion we know Prussian can do. In the top 32 he played DJ Toncopanon, the 19 year old youth phenom of Gensan, and the Open Singles Champion of the Halad Classic last January.  Prussian’s quest for the Darter of the Year ended when DJ swept him 4-0.