“If I win, I win. If I lose, so be it. It's a no-lose situation” - Paul Lim looks ahead to rematch against Luke Humphries at the PDC World Darts Championship

Paul Lim is used to making history. With his victory over Jeffrey de Graaf in the first round of the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship, the 71-year-old Singaporean added another unique chapter to his illustrious career. Lim thus became the oldest player ever to win a match at the World Championship at Alexandra Palace.

Almost 36 years after becoming the first player to hit a nine-darter at a World Championship, his name still sits among the greats of the sport. And retiring? That has never been an option for Lim. “I never doubted I would still be playing at this age,” he said after his historic win to BBC Sport. "My passion for my darting career and the sport of darts itself - I've always enjoyed it."

According to Lim, that very passion is the key to his longevity. "The passion makes me want to play, to practise and to commit to the level that I think I can actually even be better," he explained. "Darts is not a sport where you need to be really strong. All you need is to basically be healthy. Longevity is something in darts that will be longer than a lot of other sports."

Lim first stepped onto a World Championship stage in 1982 and qualified again this year for the PDC Worlds via the Asian Tour, his first appearance since 2022. Last year he narrowly missed qualification, but he was invited to the WDF Worlds at Lakeside. There, at the age of seventy, he reached the final, fittingly on the stage where he threw his legendary nine-darter in 1990.

The way Lim now approaches matches is very different from the past. "In the early part of my career, I felt I had everything to lose," he said. “Right now, all I want to do is show up and play good. If I win, I win. If I lose, so be it. It's a no-lose situation.”

For Lim, it’s about the chance to keep competing. “All I want is the opportunity to compete, show the world I can still compete and prove within myself that I still love the sport.”

Although he now holds multiple records, Lim will forever be linked to that one moment in 1990: the first nine-darter ever at a World Championship, against Jack McKenna. That perfect leg earned him £52,000 at the time, more prize money than world champion Phil Taylor made that year.

"The £52,000 never came into my head," Lim reflected. "If I did think about it, I probably would have missed the last dart. I knew I was going to the nine-darter but the money was never in my head. My rhythm never changed, I never stopped and it turned out well."

The moment had major consequences. "It was a great moment and a moment that changed my life." said Lim. With the prize money he was able to start his own business, which gave him financial peace outside the sport.

The top prize at the current Worlds stands at one million pounds, a figure Lim meets with pragmatism. "First and foremost I would look after my kids and I'd put it in a bank account for them and my granddaughters," he said. "I might keep some for myself but I don't think I need £1m at my age."

Lim now sees his role as broader than just his own results. He strongly believes in the growth of darts in Asia. "Ten years ago, if I was on a street in Hong Kong and asked people if they knew anything about darts, probably two per cent would say they'd seen it," said Lim. "Now it's different, you watch the representation of players from each country, like Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan. You ask anyone in Japan about darts, they know now."

According to Lim, ambition is growing with it. "It's becoming something where someone wants to be a good darts player, playing on a big stage for their country and for a championship." He answers the question of whether there will ever be a male darts world champion from Asia with confidence. "In the next decade, I think so," Lim statws. "I reckon it's a matter of time. Once we can create, let's say 10,000 talented players, out of those you'll eventually find someone who's going to be really good at it. I think it's time."

In the second round, Lim faces world number two and former world champion Luke Humphries. The pair have met at the Worlds before, in 2021, when Lim sprung a surprise 3-2 win. Humphries later said that defeat was a turning point in his career.

"To come across a champion who is as humble as him - when he said that, it was really a compliment to me," Lim said. "I've got nothing ever bad to say about Luke."

For Lim, there’s an opportunity in every defeat. "With every defeat or every win, there is a spark somewhere - you've got to find it to spark you in the right direction. I can't say that loss made him a world champion, but maybe it created that spark within himself to look at something differently and it turned out well for him.

His verdict on Humphries is clear. "He is definitely a different Luke Humphries. He was good then, now he is great. It's an honour to hear him calling me a legend."