At 63, Singapore darts maestro Paul Lim remains one of the world’s best

SINGAPORE — One of the world's best darts players is based in Hong Kong, holds a United States green card and pledges allegiance to Singapore.

Even at 63, Paul Lim remains a revered name in world darts circles 43 years after picking up his first one.

He got started at a pub in England as a 20-year-old whiling time away with his friends, having moved there to study after completing National Service.

Returning to Singapore after six years to work as a chef at the now-defunct Marco Polo Hotel, Lim could have ended up firing up the stove for a living - only to end up firing arrows instead.

Then 28, an advertisement for a chef role at a Travelodge hotel in Papua New Guinea piqued Lim's interest.

His application was successful, and during his time there, Lim wound up representing the South Pacific nation and winning the 1980 World Darts Federation (WDF) Pacific Cup singles' title.

"The guy I played against in the final was an American called Jerry Umberger," Lim recalled to TODAY in a phone interview.

"We became friends, and he asked me to look into the American circuit as it's all year-round. So I decided to quit my job and go there. I worked part-time as a chef from Monday to Thursday, then from Friday to Sunday, I'd play tournaments.

"For my first two years, I had no sponsors and I depended on my savings and my job (salary)."

BECOMING PROFESSIONAL

Lim started to win tournaments, with the winnings allowing him to become a professional darts player. He also briefly represented the US, but switched back to Singapore colours when the Republic became a WDF affiliate.

"Yes, always," he swiftly responded when asked if he still holds Singapore citizenship.

He then achieved worldwide fame with the first ever nine-dart finish at the 1990 world championships, a feat that took 19 years to be repeated.

While Lim represented the US then, he was wearing the Singapore flag earlier this month in Frankfurt, Germany when he made headlines again.

Together with Harith Lim, they knocked out top seed Scotland - comprising world No 2 Gary Anderson and No 3 Peter Wright - in the first round of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Cup of Darts.

"It doesn't make any difference to me, really as I've seen No 1 seeds beaten all the time," he said.

"It's just that … we were 35/1 underdogs, that's a big deal.

"It's almost as if Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy were golf partners, then suddenly two Singaporeans (came along and) beat them."

The Lims - no relation except a friendship of 32 years - went on to topple Spain before exiting to Belgium in the quarter-finals.

SOFT-TIP MAESTRO

However, it is in the soft-tip world where Lim's darts prowess is often in full bloom.

A two-time overall champion in the Soft Darts World Championship - The World series in 2013 and last year, Lim is aiming to retain the crown and leads the rankings after winning Stage 2 in France last week.

Lim picked up soft-tip over 20 years ago, and believes it has transformed the darts scene.

Soft-tips, which are plastic, allow for technology to be integrated as the scoring is done automatically, statistics are recorded instantly and matches can be played online via the electronic dartboards.

This makes it "very convenient" and player-friendly, which in turns draws a huge, younger crowd that is willing to spend.

"I was able to make a living (in the early days) because I was winning quite a lot of tournaments," Lim said.

"But if you don't consistently win and have no sponsors, it's quite difficult. Now … it's like a fashion for young people.

"They dress up nicely, like their darts to be more fanciful, their flights (a dart consists of a point, barrel, shaft and flight) to be different, so they will spend money.

"So the darts industry has become more lucrative … The branding is there, companies are spending a lot of time marketing their products with professional players being on the media. Beginner players now, they will go a dart shop and actually shop for the things they like and see. Before, there was no such thing!"

SINGAPORE'S DECLINE

Lim notes that the soft-tip darts scene has exploded in Singapore, too, and estimates there are around 20,000 players here.

"Singapore has one of the most lucrative and active darts scene in the world," he said, adding that Japan is the leading darts nation in Asia while Hong Kong, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are active as well.

The stereotype of darts being played only in pubs has been smashed too, as Lim cites the presence of machines in bak kut teh shops here and cafes in Hong Kong and Japan that serve coffee and juices instead of booze.

But agitation creeps into his voice when the state of the local steel-tip scene is brought up.

"I feel really angry," he said.

"We could have been growing in the steel-tip (competitions) too, but it's just that the people who ran the (Singapore) darts association, for the last 10 years have run it to the ground.

"We used to send teams to the World Cup, organise the Singapore Open, Pesta Sukan, (had) a great league system. It was great in the early days. "We have good players … but they can't go nowhere, that's a shame, really."

Without an association to be affiliated with, players are unable to represent Singapore internationally. Lim revealed that him and Harith - "Singapore's best steel-tip player" - owe their participation in the PDC World Cup to a personal invitation from organisers.

Their recent World Cup exploits sparked a rash of coverage here, which has been sorely lacking in the past.

"We still have a lot of work to do in terms of public awareness, that's why we need the media (to help)," Lim said.

"Actually, darts in Singapore is already there, just that there isn't awareness … it's so easy to get involved because it's everywhere."

STILL GOING STRONG

Lim's passion for darts is still clear, even over a crackly connection from Kowloon, where he has worked for Dartslive as a consultant for seven years.

He promotes its soft-tip darts system and the flexible hours allows him to travel the world to compete regularly.

His family - wife Janet and sons Christopher, 30 and Michael, 26 - reside in San Bernardino, California, and he visits them six times a year, spending seven to 10 days each time.

He returns to Singapore once every two months for four or five days, where he runs two darts bars.

Lim is eager to pass down his knowledge and has set up a school to train professional coaches to teach the younger generation the correct fundamentals. He also visits old folks' homes in Hong Kong to impart the "beauty of darts".

Retirement is "probably" at least five years away for Lim, who is focused on maintaining his competitive edge.

"At competitions, you can start at 7.30am and play until night," he said.

"So you've got to be pretty fit in a certain way. You are walking to the dartboard back and forth. Every time you walk, it is 10 feet and I probably walk a few thousand times a day."

He trains twice daily too - a cup of tea in the morning before going at the dartboard for an hour and a half, then to work, followed by another two hours before bedtime.

"It's a muscle memory thing, I've got to do it every day," he said.

For now, he will be working and relaxing "a bit" before his next competition on July 7 at the PDC Shanghai Masters. There, he will face the top eight steel-tip players in the world, but he is, as expected, unfazed.

"I've just got to get ready again," he quipped. "That's all."