Our last post covered Pupo Teng-Lieh and Chi-Jui Tseng, two Taiwan darts players. This time, 4 more names: a PDC World Cup upset, a rising WDF ranking, and two teenagers who turned a year and a half of practice into a world title.
An-Sheng Lu (Taiwan): the 132 checkout that sealed a famous upset
Nicknamed "Ans." Teamed up with Pupo Teng-Lieh in 2024 to become the first-ever Chinese Taipei pair at the PDC World Cup of Darts. In the group stage against 2019 runners-up Ireland, Lu averaged 107 and hit a 132 checkout in the deciding leg, helping Taiwan pull off one of the tournament's biggest-ever shocks, 4–3. That same year he reached the quarter-finals twice on the PDC Asian Tour, building a steady presence on the steel-tip circuit.
Pei-Ying Liao (Taiwan): the Taiwan Darts Open champion
Won the 2024 Taiwan Darts Open women's title, beating Hong Kong's Tin-Yee Ip 4–2 along the way before a 4–2 final win over Mongolia's Khulan Bayanmunkh. At the 2025 WDF World Cup women's singles, she won two rounds in a row (over Michelle Merlit, then Aoife McCormack) before falling in the last 32. She currently sits at No. 26 in the WDF Asia women's ranking, one of the highest-ranked Taiwanese women in steel-tip darts.
Tsai Yung-en (Taiwan): a world title after a year and a half of darts
A junior high school student who'd only been playing darts for a year and a half. In 2025 she teamed up with Yang Yi-ching at the WDF World Cup in Seoul and won the U18 girls' pairs gold, beating a Finnish pair 4–2 in the final: Taiwan's first-ever medal at the WDF World Cup, on its debut appearance, and it was gold.
Yang Yi-ching (Taiwan): already a three-time domestic champion before Seoul
A high school student with three years of competitive darts experience, and three domestic titles already under her belt before the Seoul trip. Alongside the U18 pairs gold with Tsai Yung-en, she's also the inaugural WDF Girls Steel Masters champion and currently ranks No. 3 in the WDF Asia Girls U18 standings. The Chinese Taipei Darts Federation called the gold medal proof that two decades of growing the sport in Taiwan are starting to pay off.
FAQ
Does Taiwan have professional darts players?
Yes. Chinese Taipei has fielded players on both the PDC and WDF stages in recent years: An-Sheng Lu and Pupo Teng-Lieh's 2024 upset of Ireland, plus Pei-Ying Liao, Tsai Yung-en and Yang Yi-ching all reaching World Cup events on the women's side. The numbers are still small, but growing every year.
Do Taiwan's darts players play soft-tip or steel-tip?
Both, often the same player at different stages. Pupo Teng-Lieh built his game on soft-tip boards before moving to steel-tip events like the WDF and PDC. AI DARTS runs Phoenix soft-tip boards, the lowest-friction way to get started with the sport.
Where can I watch Taiwan's players compete?
The World Cup of Darts (Frankfurt, every June) and the WDF World Cup (every two years) are the two stages where a Chinese Taipei team shows up most reliably. Rosters change year to year, so check DartsWDF before an event.
Can a beginner realistically get this good?
Tsai Yung-en picked up a world medal after a year and a half of darts, starting from zero like most people. Get the rules down first: how to play Cricket and 501. AI DARTS boards run 24 hours self-service, and your scores land on the member leaderboard, menu here.