Lim, 71, becomes oldest winner at World Championship

Paul Lim became the oldest player to win a match at the PDC World Championship as the 71-year-old claimed a stunning victory over Jeffrey de Graaf.

Backed by a partisan crowd at the Alexandra Palace the Singapore veteran claimed a 3-1 success over the Dutch-born Swede.

He beat a record held by Northern Irishman John MaGowan, who was 67 when he knocked out Chris Mason in the first round of the tournament in December 2008.

Lim could potentially face Luke Humphries in the second round, should the 2024 world champion come through his opening match against Ted Evetts later on Saturday evening.

Lim, who is best known throwing the tournament’s first nine darter in 1990, beat Humphries when the pair last met at the Ally Pally five years ago.

The crowd cheered Lim to the rafters when he won the first set but De Graaf appeared to have the momentum after he levelled the match.

However, Lim got his nose in front after a scrappy third set as De Graaf wilted while the experienced ‘Singapore Slinger’ held his nerve in a tense fourth sealing victory with an average of 86.52.

More to follow.

Anderson survives scare

Gary Anderson celebrates — Gary Anderson won the PDC World Championship in 2015 and 2016 [Getty Images]

In the afternoon session, Gary Anderson booked his place in the second round with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Adam Hunt.

Two-time champion Anderson, 54, was given a stern examination by world number 84 Hunt but the Flying Scotsman was able to battle back from 2-1 down to progress.

Anderson, seeded 14th, will next play the winner of the match between Connor Scutt and Simon Whitlock .

«That’s probably the best Adam has played all season. The first game is the hardest, but I’m through,» Anderson told Sky Sports.

Anderson, who won back-to-back world titles in 2015 and 2016, held his nerve to win the first set 3-2 against the 32-year-old Englishman.

However, he missed double top in the deciding leg in the second set and Hunt took his chance to level the match up with a confident 72 checkout.

Hunt won the third set as Anderson’s average plummeted but the Scot raised his game in the fourth and took control early in the decider as Hunt failed to recover from an early break of throw.

Elsewhere, Welsh amateur David Davies secured a dream tie with defending champion Luke Littler in the next round after causing a minor upset on his World Championship debut.

Davies claimed a 3-0 win over Belgium’s Mario Vandenbogaerde – 66th in the PDC rankings – thanks to a checkout average of 37.5%.

Andrew Gilding saw off a spirited effort from 22-year-old tournament debutant Cam Crabtree as he progressed with a 3-1 win over his fellow Englishman thanks to an average of 97.89.

Luke Woodhouse recovered from a sluggish start as he fought back from a set down to beat Croatia’s Boris Krcmar 3-1.