PDC World Darts Championship - World Darts Championship
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by Devesh Jaganath | in PDC World Darts Championship Predictions
The evening session on Day 3 at the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship gets underway with Jeffrey de Graaf facing Paul Lim on Saturday. The winner of this match between the Happy Darter and the Singapore Slinger will meet either Luke Humphries or Ted Evetts in the second round. Let’s get into the match prediction.
Jeffrey de Graaf finished top of the rankings in the Nordic & Baltic ProTour Order of Merit and is back at the Allp Pally after his best-ever performance, reaching the last 16 in the previous edition.
The highlight of the Swede’s year was winning his first-ever PDC ranking title at the Players Championship 24. He also reached the final of PC8 but lost to Martin Schindler.
De Graaf was ousted in the first round of the PC finals by Luke Littler last month and has won four of his last 10 matches in all competitions.
Meanwhile, at 71 years of age, Paul Lim is the oldest player in history to qualify for Alexandra Palace. He has featured here in numerous editions but has not gone beyond the second round.
While he is not as active nowadays, the legendary player has won two events of the 2025 PDC Asian Tour and also represented Singapore at the 2025 World Cup of Darts alongside Phuay Wei Tan.
Lim was the first player to record a nine-darter at the Worlds, doing so way back in 1990. This is the first time he will face this opponent in a competitive match.
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Jeffrey de Graaf - Paul Lim Key Points
- Jeffrey de Graaf has lost three of his last four matches.
- Jeffrey de Graaf has only won one of his last 10 matches by three clear sets.
- Paul Lim has featured in this tournament since the 1980s.
- Paul Lim represented Singapore at the World Cup of Darts this year.
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Our Jeffrey de Graaf vs Paul Lim Prediction
Jeffrey de Graaf had his best-ever World Championships last year, and despite a recent dip in form, bookmakers and most pundits agree that he should get to at least round two in this competition.
At 71, Paul Lim’s best days are behind him, but the legendary player is still competing at the highest level, as illustrated by being selected to represent his nation at the World Cup this year. We expect De Graaf to get the win, but fancy Lim to notch up at least a few sets. Our Jeffrey de Graaf vs Paul Lim prediction is Paul Lim +2.5.
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