Luke Humphries relishing World Darts Championship replay with Paul Lim: That loss spurred me onto so much more

Luke Humphries says he is relishing the opportunity to face Paul Lim at the World Darts Championship once again five years on from his loss to the 71-year-old.

Humphries put in some impressive spells in a 3-1 win over Ted Evetts in his opening round encounter while Lim became the oldest winner ever at the PDC World Darts Championship with his 3-1 victory over Jeffrey de Graaf.

Lim was back at Alexandra Palace 45 years on from his debut and in his 27th appearance, delighting the raucous crowd that were firmly on his side as he pulled off one of the most memorable wins on the Palace stage.

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It means the 'Singapore Slinger' faces the world No 2 who he pulled off a comeback against back in 2021 to win 3-2 in the first round.

While Humphries would love to even up the statistics and get a win against Lim on this stage, he credits that loss with sparking the change in his career that has seen him become the player he is today.

Indeed, since that loss he has gone on to pick up eight major titles, including his world championship title in 2024.

"I am not going to look for revenge on any player, you play each other so many times," Humphries said.

"There is no revenge in darts. I can't get revenge for a certain game that happened five years ago.

"If anything, I almost thank Paul for that defeat five years ago - it changed me as a player, it changed me as a person.

"Three months later I lost about four stone and was in a major final myself so if anything it helped my career.

"I am a really big fan of him and he is a really big fan of me. We get on well.

"But of course it is business in the next game and if I am scoring the way I did tonight it is a tough one for him but if I am not, he has got a chance.

"The crowd are going to be on his side but I have experienced that many times before with the crowd against you.

"The world final 2024, the whole crowd was against me and I managed to put in one of my best performances ever so it is a game I relish and look forward to. It is a big game playing against a legend."

For Lim, the chance to meet 'Cool Hand' again is an opportunity to play a "gentleman" but one he believes he can still beat.

"Luke Humphries, I've been watching the last few years and he puts so much effort and time into what he's doing," Lim told Sky Sports.

"He's a good guy, a gentleman and a great player. I just hope on a given day it can happen again. He's good but can be beaten."

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