Record-breaking star brands Luke Littler ‘Tiger Woods of darts’ in glowing endorsement

It’s only taken three days of the World Darts Championship for one of the greatest stories of the tournament to emerge.

Yet Paul Lim, who on Saturday became the oldest player to have won a game at darts’ marquee tournament aged 71, was keen to heap praise on Luke Littler.

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Lim, who was backed by a raucous Alexandra Palace crowd, booked his spot in the second round thanks to a 3-1 win over Jeffrey de Graaf.

The Singaporean’s victory meant he beat the record for the oldest player to win a match at the World Championships, which previously belonged to John MaGowan when he knocked Chris Mason out of the tournament in 2008 aged 67.

Lim now has the daunting task of facing former world champion Luke Humphries in the second round after ‘Cool Hand’ cruised to a 3-1 win over Ted Evetts.

Darts’ elder statesman undoubtedly goes into the contest a heavy underdog, although he boasts a win over Humphries in the opening round of the 2021 World Championships.

Speaking to talkSPORT following his historic win, Lim was quick to heap praise on Humphries and declared him one of the very few members in the upper echelons of the sport.

However, he reserved a special endorsement for reigning world champion Littler and likened his dominance in the sport to that of golf great Tiger Woods, who has 15 majors to his name.

“There’s a few players in the PDC that are really, really special, and he (Luke Humphries) is one of them,” Lim said.

“I have to say that.

“Luke Littler is just one of those lads that’s come up in the last two years, now he is definitely special.

“I hate to say it, I don’t think there’s going to be anyone like him.

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“Luke Littler, there’s something about him. He’s like Tiger Woods to me. When I used to watch, he’s like Tiger Woods. He’s a talent, that’s all I can say.”

Although Littler and Woods compete in vastly different disciplines, their respective prowess is undeniable.

Littler became the youngest world champion at 17 years and 347 days in January and the youngest world No. 1 thanks to his victory at the Grand Slam of Darts.

His unprecedented rise to superstardom was recognised outside of the darts world too, as he was named the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2024.

Woods was 21 when he won his first major, which came in the form of the 1997 Masters.

The golf great secured his last major in 2019 at the ripe age of 43 as he won the Masters for a fifth time.

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As for Lim, simply making it to the second round is a monumental achievement.

He’ll be backed once again by a vociferous Ally Pally crowd when he faces Humphries.

It could turn out to be Lim’s not-so-secret weapon given he felt the crowd spurred him on to ‘dig deep’ against De Graaf.

“I think [the crowd] is part of the reason why, for all these years, I’m still involved,” Lim said.

“I think it’s the fans, the players, the people who love darts too. The feeling I get from them actually pushed me in the sense of, ‘Dig deep and do it’.

“Whether it’s for myself or for the fans, it’s for the sport of darts. It’s for everyone.”