"I want to go out with a bang!" - Paul Lim's Lakeside fairytale set for World Championship final
WDF
42 years after his first World Championship appearance in 1982, Paul Lim is through to a first world final. The 70-year-old Singaporean did so in style too, with a 5-0 win against American Jason Brandon. With the 2024 WDF World Championship on the line at the Lakeside, the living legend will take on Irishman Shane McGuirk.
As a marker of how well Lim played on Saturday night, he lost only three legs in the entirety of his semifinal. "In my heart actually I felt that I'm prepared for it. I really am and I just want to do well," reflected Lim afterwards in his post-match interview. "I always say that in any tournament, you just want to do well, and if you do well and you got beaten by a better opponent, tough luck. That's what it is and we accept that, because I've been through it for 40 years! I think a bit of luck is on my side, but you create your own luck."
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As mentioned, Lim will take on McGuirk in the final, who has been throwing a plus-90 average all tournament. "I'm so glad to be in the final, because I want to go out with a bang!" Lim previews. "I know I have a tough opponent. I just want to go up there and play my darts that's all, and hopefully that will entertain the audience."
Lim made his debut at the BDO World Championship all the way back in 1982; in 1990 he threw the only nine-darter ever at Lakeside. With this run to the final, the crowd favourite has again etched his name in darting folklore. "I felt the love from the crowd and it actually really inspires me. Support is very important and I have the fans out there, that's just cheering for me everytime I go up," he says. "My darts career actually started at Lakeside, so I've got to thank the BDO and Olly Croft."
At 70, Lim realizes that time does not play in his favour; earlier this week he dropped the news that this World Championship will probably be his last. "My goal now is mainly to get players in Asia excited about darts. I hope that more and more young people will start playing darts and that we will have some top Asian players in the future."
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