Paul Lim Wins: 71-Year-Old Darts World Cup Victory

He was the oldest winner of a World Cup match. Five years ago, aged 66. “Paul Lim, Paul Lim – a bottle of madness, please,” was the headline of a WELT article back in December 2020, when legend Lim sensationally reached the second round of the World Cup after a victory over a certain Luke Humphries.

Now the “Singapore Slinger” broke his own age record and moved into the second round again in his 29th World Cup participation overall and his 15th at the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). At the age of 71, Lim won 3-1 against Jeffrey de Graaf, who started for Sweden.

That makes two bottles of madness – at least. 44 years after his World Cup debut, the man who threw the first nine-darter in World Cup history in 1990 is in the second round of the World Cup. A sensation, and an almost unbelievable achievement given his age.

The PDC boss welcomes Lim

The spectators chanted for the legend before the match began, then celebrated his opponent’s missed triples and Lim’s own goals. Right into the second set, every single dart was followed and commented on – attention and volume that has only been experienced at Falleon Sherrock’s performances in recent years.

Before he went on stage, PDC boss Matt Porter even came to Lim, welcomed him and wished him good luck again. “I couldn’t give him any tips. He knows everyone,” said Porter.

Lim secured the first set with strong scoring, but then seemed to lose it in the second round. His average dropped about ten points from 95. “I get tired quicker,” he explained five years ago.

But the “Singapore Slinger”, who has also competed for Papua New Guinea, the USA and Hong Kong in his eventful life, stayed in the race. “I was lucky that Jeffrey didn’t hit everything and I ultimately benefited from that,” Lim admitted after his success.

However, just waiting for your opponent to make mistakes is not enough in darts. The last arrow must be actively transformed. Like at the end of the third sentence. Lim had forced the decider, was left with 71 points, hit the triple 13, but preferred to check again to see whether the arrow was actually there.

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Lim took two steps forward, checked, nodded, stepped back to the oche and then converted on double 16 to take the set lead 2-1 to the frenetic cheers of the audience.

Lim had fun, laughed – and made 3,200 viewers laugh. In the fourth round, the joy was increasingly mixed with the feeling of experiencing darts history up close. “Moments like this are what keep me going. I’m grateful to be here at all and I’d like to thank the audience for being behind me the whole time,” Lim later said politely: “I really have no idea why they’ve always been on my side. But it’s nice to see that people obviously like me.”

Round four also approached the deciding leg with both players’ performances fluctuating greatly. Both opponents started the decider with a 180, but then hardly hit any triples. Lim stayed strong, checked to win and shook Alexandra Palace.

The average of. 86.52 points was negligible. “It’s just a matter of moving forward,” he said, winking. Who would want to contradict Paul Lim?

If Lutz Wöckener Not exactly trying out any sport on his own, he writes about darts and sports politics, but sometimes also something off-kilter like football.

Darts World Cup 2026, results, 1st round

• Mario Vandenbogaerde (BEL) – David Davies (WAL) 0:3 (2:3, 0:3, 2:3)
• Andrew Gilding (ENG) – Cam Crabtree (ENG) 3:1 (3:0, 3:0, 2:3, 3:0)
• Luke Woodhouse (ENG/25) – Boris Krcmar (CRO) 3:1 (2:3, 3:0, 3:2, 3:1)
• Gary Anderson (SCO/14) – Adam Hunt (ENG) 3:2 (3:2, 2:3, 2:3, 3:1, 3:1)
• The Graphy (SWE) – Paul Lim (SIN) 1:3 (1:3, 3:1, 2:3, 2:3)
• Wessel Nijman (NED/31) – Karel Sedlacek (CZE) 3:0 (3:1, 3:1, 3:1)
• Luke Humphries (ENG/2) – Ted Evetts (ENG)
• Gabriel Clemens (D) – Alex Spellman (USA)