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23 hours ago
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Each year, stars shine at the PDC Darts World Championship, but it's also where upsets happen and players make a name for themselves.
It was a big headline when 71-year-old Paul Lim qualified for the 2026 PDC WC, but 'just' qualifying for the event wasn't the end of the story for Lim.
Paul Lim shocks Jeffrey De Graaf in first round of 2026 PDC WC
Saturday evening, Paul Lim opened up his 2026 WC campaign in a best-of-5 set match against Sweden's Jeffrey De Graaf.
He started off blazing, averaging in the mid-90s, and winning the first set.
He cooled down quite a bit in the second set, allowing De Graaf to tie the game at 1-1 in sets.
It was the next two sets when Lim turned back the clock, winning two gritty sets that went to last-leg deciders.
It's very possible that Lim could have ended up dropping the fifth set if the match had gone that far, since De Graaf would have been 'on throw.'
Lim finished the game averaging 86.52, which was very close to De Graaf's average of 86.88.
His win over Jeffrey De Graaf was a historic feat, as he set a new mark for the oldest player to win a game on the WC stage.
Lim will now face the winner of the match between Luke Humphries and Ted Evetts.
The likely outcome is Lim and Humphries facing off, which wouldn't be the first time the two play each other at aWC, after Lim had an epic comeback win in their first round match at the 2021 PDC WC.
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English (US)