Darts legend Paul Lim was shocked to hear Luke Littler's comments about him following his historic win at the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship.
During the fourth day of the World Darts Championship in London's iconic Alexandra Palace, history was made as Lim stepped up to the oche for his opening match against Dutch-born Swedish player Jeffrey de Graaf.
The 71-year-old enjoyed the backing of the London crowd as he claimed a surprise 3-1 win in the match, taking the record of the oldest player ever to win a match at the PDC World Darts Championship.
Lim, known as the 'Singapore Slinger', will now face 2024 world champion Luke Humphries, whom he beat in the tournament five years ago, in the second round of the competition
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Ahead of the match, world number one and reigning champion Littler spoke about the possibility of facing Lim in the future, and his comments left the Singaporean star taken aback.
Heading into the World Championship this year, Lim is undoubtedly one of the most popular players competing due to his motivation and passion for the sport despite his age.
Because of the 71-year-old's popularity, 2025 champion Littler, who is the youngest player competing at the World Darts Championship this year, admitted that Lim was one of the players he hoped to avoid in the competition this year.
After his win over De Graaf, Lim addressed Littler's comments, confessing that he initially thought that his friend was winding him up and lying to him.
“I thought it was a joke! A friend from Liverpool sent it to me, and I thought it was just a gimmick," he admitted to SportsBoom.
"When I realised he actually said it, I thought he must be out of his mind! But honestly, I take it as a compliment. Maybe he feels the crowd will be behind me, and tonight they were.”
However, before a poetential meeting with Littler, Lim will face the tough challenge of beating Humphries, despite the fact that he beat the former world no.1 3-2 in a first-round match in the 2020 World Championship.
Speaking before the match was confrimed, Lim said: "Of course, it would be uncanny if I met Luke Humphries again, but the Luke Humphries of today is not the Luke Humphries of a few years ago.
"He’s definitely a force to be reckoned with, one of the best players in the world.
It’s a big difference. Luke is very dedicated. I even noticed recently that he’s made small changes to his game. When a player of that calibre is still making adjustments to get better, that tells you everything."
Topics: Darts, Luke Littler, Luke Humphries
Ben McCrum