Paul Lim won the 21st tournament of the PDC
Asian Tour 2023 on Sunday. For the "Singapore Slinger," it is his first tournament victory on the PDC Asian Tour since 2019.
Moreover, it was a much-needed victory, as this title puts the 69-year-old darts legend back in the battle for the qualification spots for the World Darts Championship. With three tournaments to go, Lim is now fifth, while the top four receive an invitation to the World Darts Championship.
The Singaporean, who became world famous for his nine-darter at Lakeside in 1990, started the tournament with wins over Vichai Rueangthong (4-1), Yoshihisa Baba (4-2), Wiwat Pannom (4-2) and Preecha Kroomkrong (4-1). Only then did he face seeded players in the Thai playground Bang Saen.
But even they could not keep Lim from the title. Lim defeated Man Lok Leung 4-1 in the quarterfinals, and then also tied Tomoya Goto (5-3) and Paolo Nebrida (5-1) to crown himself the tournament winner.
PDC Asian Tour 21 Results.
Quarterfinals
Lourence Ilagan 4-0 Sonny Millo Balagat
Paolo Nebrida 4-3 Alexis Toylo
Paul Lim 4-1 Man Lok Leung
Tomoya Goto 4-3 Christian Perez
Semi-final
Paolo Nebrida 5-4 Lourence Ilagan
Paul Lim 5-3 Tomoya Goto
Final
Paul Lim 5-1 Paolo Nebrida