Motomu Sakai leads the 2026 Steel Tour Japan after reaching the final of all four events across Tuesday and Wednesday. Events 1-4 of Japan’s premier circuit took place across a bomber two days of action from May 5-6 in Chiba, as Sakai bagged the Event One title while reaching the final of the other three […]
Motomu Sakai leads the 2026 Steel Tour Japan after reaching the final of all four events across Tuesday and Wednesday.
Events 1-4 of Japan’s premier circuit took place across a bomber two days of action from May 5-6 in Chiba, as Sakai bagged the Event One title while reaching the final of the other three events.
Last year’s World Championship star won seven consecutive matches to bag the opening title of the year, including two averages north of 96 in victories over Kohei Aoki and Osamu Inaba in round two and the semi-finals respectively.
In the final, Sakai maintained his fine form by dispatching Kenichi Ajiki 5-3 with an average almost 15 points higher than his opponent to seal Event One in style.
The 28-year-old conceded just four legs in making the Event Two final where he fell short to Keita Ono, recording another strong average of 97 in the semi-finals against Akimune Matsuyoshi.
In Event Three, Sakai – who claimed four Asian Tour titles in 2025 – recorded a career-high average of 103.19 in a spectacular contest to deny Ryuta Arihara 4-2 in their round two tie, despite Arihara averaging a resounding 105.61 himself.
Although Sakai made the final once again after a trio of more authoritative wins, Sakai would fall short to Yutaka Sunakawa, facing a 5-2 defeat.
Event Four proved more of a battle for Sakai, requiring two last-leg deciding wins against Yoshihisa Baba and Sunakawa in the last 16 and semi-finals respectively, before once again losing in the showpiece to Ono.
Ono, meanwhile, produced two strong campaigns in Events Two and Four to take home a career second and third title on the Steel Tour.
The two-time Asian Tour title winner averaged over a ton in his best performance of Event Two in whitewashing Hidenori Nishino in the last 32, before surviving a match dart in his last four clash against Ajiki to reach the final.
Ono also scraped through a last-leg decider in his opening match of Event Four against Takuya Kobayashi, before winning his second final from two attempts at the expense of Sakai once again.
Event Three winner Sunakawa picked up his first Steel Tour title of his career, downing Sakai 5-2 in the showpiece.
Sunakawa battled through two last-leg deciders in his opening three matches against Daisuke Otsuda and Ono, before defeating World Championship star Mitsuhiko Tatsunami in the semi-final.
Sakai leads the rankings after the first four events, with Ono in second after picking up two titles and Sunakawa in third.
The overall winner of the Steel Tour Japan rankings after all 12 events are completed will earn a place at the 2026/27 Paddy Power World Darts Chanmpionship in December.
The next batch of four events on the circuit will take place from August 15-16, as Osaka will play host to Events 5-8.
2026 Steel Tour Japan
May 5-6, Chiba, Japan
Event One
Semi-Finals
Motomu Sakai 5-1 Osamu Inaba
Kenichi Ajiki 5-3 Akito Yamagata
Final
Motomu Sakai 5-3 Kenichi Ajiki
Event Two
Semi-Finals
Motomu Sakai 5-2 Akimune Matsuyoshi
Keita Ono 5-4 Kenichi Ajiki
Final
Keita Ono 5-3 Motomu Sakai
Event Three
Semi-Finals
Motomu Sakai 5-2 Akito Yamagata
Yutaka Sunakawa 5-2 Mitsuhiko Tatsunami
Final
Yutaka Sunakawa 5-2 Motomu Sakai
Event Four
Semi-Finals
Motomu Sakai 5-4 Yutaka Sunakawa
Keita Ono 5-2 Ryusei Azemoto
Final
Keita Ono 5-2 Motomu Sakai