​71-year-old Lim becomes oldest match winner in PDC World Championship history

Paul Lim of Singapore celebrates after winning his match on Day Three of the 2025/26 Paddy Power World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace
Paul Lim of Singapore celebrates after winning his match on Day Three of the 2025/26 Paddy Power World Darts Championship at Alexandra PalaceANDREW REDINGTON / GETTY IMAGES EUROPE / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

A year after Luke Littler became the youngest winner of the PDC World Darts Championship, ​71-year-old Paul Lim on Saturday became the oldest winner of a ‌match in the tournament's history.

Roared on ‌by the usual raucous Alexandra Palace crowd, the Singapore veteran stunned Dutch-born Swede Jeffrey de Graaf.

The ⁠previous oldest player to win a ‌round was Northern Ireland's John McGowan in ​2008, when he was 67.

Lim will face former world champion Luke Humphries next, a player he beat at the tournament five ‌years ago.

"So I hope on a given day it can happen again, but I ⁠never give up. He is good, but he can be beaten," Lim, known as the Singapore Slinger, said after his 3-1 win.

Lim's longevity has made him one of the most iconic names in darts, and in 1990, he became the first ⁠player to hit a world ‌championship nine-darter at the BDO tournament.

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