Paul Lim became the oldest player to win a match at the PDC World Championship as the 71-year-old claimed a stunning victory over Jeffrey de Graaf.
Backed by a partisan crowd at the Alexandra Palace, the Singapore veteran claimed a 3-1 success over the Dutch-born Swede.
Advertisement
He beat a record held by Northern Irishman John MaGowan, who was 67 when he knocked out Chris Mason in the first round of the tournament in December 2008.
“Just to make it here is an achievement. I don’t wish for anyone to miss but when they miss you have to take the opportunity,” Lim told Sky Sports.
Lim could face Luke Humphries in the second round, should the 2024 world champion come through his opening match against Ted Evetts later on Saturday evening.
Lim, who thew the first world championship nine-darter at the BDO event at Lakeside in 1990, beat Humphries when the pair last met at the Ally Pally five years ago.
Advertisement
“He [Humphries] puts so much effort and time into what he is doing, he is a good guy, a gentleman and a great player,” added Lim.
“So I hope on a given day it can happen again [if I play him] but I never give up. He is good but he can be beaten.”
The crowd cheered Lim, who is 72 next month, to the rafters when he won the first set but De Graaf appeared to have the momentum after he levelled the match.
However, Lim got his nose in front after a scrappy third set as De Graaf wilted while the experienced ‘Singapore Slinger’ held his nerve in a tense fourth, sealing victory with an average of 86.52.
Advertisement
Five-time world championship semi-finalist Wayne Mardle said Lim was able to “take his chances” to secure an “incredible” win.
“If you have the desire, the passion but most of all the ability humans can achieve amazing things – and that was amazing,” said Mardle on Sky.
De Graaf was six years old when Lim made his PDC debut 29 years ago.
Anderson survives scare
Gary Anderson won the PDC World Championship in 2015 and 2016 [Getty Images]
In the afternoon session, Gary Anderson booked his place in the second round with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Adam Hunt.
Two-time champion Anderson, 54, was given a stern examination by world number 84 Hunt but the Flying Scotsman was able to battle back from 2-1 down to progress.
Advertisement
Anderson, seeded 14th, will next play the winner of the match between Connor Scutt and Simon Whitlock .
“That’s probably the best Adam has played all season. The first game is the hardest, but I’m through,” Anderson told Sky Sports.
Anderson, who won back-to-back world titles in 2015 and 2016, held his nerve to win the first set 3-2 against the 32-year-old Englishman.
However, he missed double top in the deciding leg in the second set and Hunt took his chance to level the match up with a confident 72 checkout.
Hunt won the third set as Anderson’s average plummeted but the Scot raised his game in the fourth and took control early in the decider as Hunt failed to recover from an early break of throw.
Advertisement
Elsewhere, Welsh amateur David Davies secured a dream tie with defending champion Luke Littler in the next round after causing a minor upset on his World Championship debut.
Davies claimed a 3-0 win over Belgium’s Mario Vandenbogaerde – 66th in the PDC rankings – thanks to a checkout average of 37.5%.
Andrew Gilding saw off a spirited effort from 22-year-old tournament debutant Cam Crabtree as he progressed with a 3-1 win over his fellow Englishman thanks to an average of 97.89.
Luke Woodhouse recovered from a sluggish start as he fought back from a set down to beat Croatia’s Boris Krcmar 3-1.
Advertisement
Saturday’s results
Afternoon session
Mario Vandenbogaerde 0-3 David Davies
Andrew Gilding 3-1 Cam Crabtree
Luke Woodhouse (25) 3-1 Boris Krcmar
Gary Anderson (14) 3-2 Adam Hunt
Evening session
Jeffrey de Graaf 1-3 Paul Lim
Wessel Nijman (31) 3-0 Karel Sedlacek
Luke Humphries (2) v Ted Evetts
Gabriel Clemens v Alex Spellman
Sunday’s schedule
Afternoon session (12:30)
Ritchie Edhouse (27) v Jonny Tata
Dom Taylor v Oskar Lukasiak
Richard Veenstra v Nitin Kumar
Joe Cullen (32) v Bradley Brooks
Evening session (19:00)
Lukas Wenig v Wesley Plaisier
Dimitri van den Bergh (23) v Darren Beveridge
Stephen Bunting (4) v Sebastian Bialecki
James Hurrell v Stowe Buntz
