James De los Santos. (File photo)
MANILA – Online kata champion James de los Santos made another leap toward being the world number one ranking after winning the Okinawa E-Tournament World Series on Friday.
De los Santos defeated Domont Moreno of Switzerland, 25.26-24.6, to capture his 13th online gold for the year.
He first defeated Alfredo Bustamante of the United States in the first round, 24.3-24; Silvio Cerone-Biagoni of South Africa in the quarterfinals, 24.92-23.98; and Nejc Sternisa of Slovenia, 25.8-24.72, in the semifinals.
In a chat interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA), de los Santos, however, said the work is not yet done.
"I’m currently in the 1st Euro Grand Prix. If I win this one, it will seal the deal," he said on overtaking Portugal's Eduardo Garcia as world number one.
Garcia did not join the Okinawa event, as well as the Euro Grand Prix, giving de Los Santos an outright shot at getting the top rank by this weekend.
De los Santos once again defeated Moreno in the semifinals of the Euro Grand Prix, 24.4-23.6, to clinch a spot in the finals on Saturday against the winner of the showdown between Cerone-Biagoni and Canada's Scott Taylor. (PNA)
