Luke Humphries says he is relishing the opportunity to face Paul Lim again at the World Darts Championship, five years after he lost to the 71-year-old.
Humphries produced some impressive spells in a 3-1 win over Ted Evetts in the opening round, while Lim became the oldest winner in PDC World Darts Championship history with a 3-1 win over Jeffrey de Graaf.
Lim returned to Alexandra Palace for his 27th appearance, 45 years after his debut, and scored one of the most memorable victories on the Palace stage, to the delight of the raucous crowd who were on his side.
That means the “Singapore Slinger” will make his return in 2021 to face the world No. 2, who won 3-2 in the first round.
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Luke Humphries shares his thoughts on his match against Paul Lim in the second round of the World Championship.
While Humphries would like to level his performance at this stage and win against Lim, he believes that loss sparked a change in his career and made him the player he is today.
In fact, since that loss, he has gone on to win eight major titles, including the 2024 World Championship title.
“I’m not looking for revenge against any of the players, you guys have played against each other so many times,” Humphries said.
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Paul Lim defeated Jeffrey de Graaf in the first round of the World Darts Championship.
“There is no revenge in darts. You can’t take revenge for a match you played five years ago.
“If anything, I almost had Paul to thank for that loss five years ago – it changed me as a player, it changed me as a person.
“If anything it helped my career because three months later I had lost about four stone and reached a major final myself.
“I’m a really big fan of his and he’s a big fan of mine. We get along really well.
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Paul Lim takes to the stage at the World Darts Championship at the age of 71.
“But of course it’s a job in the next game and if I score like I did tonight it’s going to be a tough game for him, but even if I don’t score he has a chance.
“The crowd will be on his side, but I’ve been in many situations where the crowd is against you.
“In the 2024 World Finals, the whole crowd was against me, but I was able to give my best performance to date, so this match is exciting for me and I’m looking forward to it. It’s a big match against a legend.”
For Lim, the chance to meet ‘Cool Hand’ again is an opportunity to play ‘gentleman’, but he still believes he can win.
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Paul Lim shared his thoughts after defeating Jeffrey de Graaf in the first round of the World Darts Championship.
“Luke Humphries, I’ve watched him over the last few years, he puts so much effort and time into what he does,” Lim told Sky Sports.
“He’s a good guy, a gentleman, a great player. I just hope something like that happens again someday. He’s a good player, but he can be beaten.”
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