Paul Lim's a remarkable story. A former Military Policeman, quality chef and professional darts player, he is the only man to have represented three countries on the oche. He is also only one of three men (all Unicorn players) to have achieved the magical nine-dart finish on UK Television and only one of four in the world.

Paul was born in Singapore in 1954. Throughout his early life, at school and in the army, darts would have been the last thing on his mind. It was only when he came to Britain to continue his pursuit of full qualification as a chef that he was introduced to the game that he has given much to and which, he admits, has given him a life that he, as a youngster, could only have dreamed of.

He served his National Service in the Singapore army between the ages of 18 to 21, a period of his life he looks back on very fondly.

"Being in the Military Police gave me added confidence. I was a very different person at the end of my three years in the army. "Yes, being in the army, for me, was fun!" Paul admits.

Cookery course and pub games

Following the completion of his national duty, he came to Britain to pursue a demanding City and Guilds qualification course in cookery, studying at Battersea and Westminster Colleges in London and undertaking his first role as a chef at the Chelsea Hotel in Knightsbridge.

Based at the time in west London, his local pub, the Robin Hood near Gunnersbury Station, rather appropriately became the place where he discovered the game of darts.
Nothing too serious at first, he joined in the nightly challenges on the oche and even won the odd knockout the pub would run. There was really nothing at this stage to suggest that the game would take Paul around the world many times.

He worked in a number of places around Britain, notably in Cardiff, and discovered that he was rather good at the game. On his return to Singapore, he entered competitions with no mean amount of success.

Beginning of his dart career

Indeed, he won the Singapore Open, followed it up with success in the prestigious Malaysian Open and, having settled after a while in Papua New Guinea as head chef of the Travel Lodge in Port Moresby, he became a Papuan international darts player.

"Singapore was not affiliated at that time to the World Darts Federation, so it was no problem for me to play for my newly adopted home."

Perhaps the tournament win which most changed Paul's life was that at Newcastle, New South Wales, when he won the Pacific Masters. There he met his good friend Jerry Umberger, who suggested that Paul might like to try playing the American circuit.

"I did and I eventually moved out to the USA. It was in 1986 that I finally settled in California after taking the decision to become a full-time professional darts player."

Back to Singapore

He had returned prior to that to Singapore where he ran a darts pub and played for the country of his birth, by now a fully affiliated nation.

He made regular trips to Europe, especially to the UK, to play tournament darts. It was on one of them, to Torremolinos for the Mediterranean Open, that he met his wife, Janet. They are happily married in San Bernardino, California, with two sons, Christopher and Michael.

His move to the United States precipitated his selection to a third international side, the USA, and he is particularly proud of his World Cup Singles Bronze medal.

9-Dart Perfect Game

Undoubtedly, though, the highlight of his glittering career came in January 1990 when, playing Irishman Jack McKenna in the second round of the Embassy World Championships in Frimley Green, Paul struck consecutive 180s, followed by treble 20, treble 19 and double 12 for the magical nine dart perfect game. It was only the second time it had been seen on television and it earned Paul a cool £52,000. He remain to be the only person to achieve a 9-darter in the event's history.

"It was also a great way to repay my sponsors, Unicorn Darts, who have always shown great faith in me."

If Paul's biggest decision was to give up his life as a chef and take up darts as a full-time occupation, it certainly paid off on that memorable night!

His other major decision was to go with the PDC and its pursuit of more opportunities for professional darts players following the acrimonious split from the British Darts Organisation and, accordingly, the WDF.

"I have no regrets about that or anything else. I am seen by some as a traitor or turncoat but, really, it isn't like that. There are times when you have to make a decision for yourself and I did."

Although Paul has set himself up in business again, making use of that which he saved from his earnings and winnings as a full-time professional, he still intends to carry on playing darts. He is in the vending machine industry, supplying machines such as electronic darts, so the time he can dedicate to practice and long-distance travel is limited.
He takes heart from the example of fellow Unicorn star John Lowe, who Paul reckons is playing as well as ever.

"He has proved that good quality darts is not just the preserve of the young and, even though I am now 48, I think I can still produce performances to match those of my own younger days!"

Paul Lim - Lifelines and achievements

Lifelines

Name	Paul Lim
Nickname	Slinger
Family	Wife Janet and two sons, Christopher and Michael
Date of birth	25th January 1954
Place of birth	Singapore
Home town	San Bernardino, California
Hobbies	Golf, ocean-fishing
Business Owner	Champion Darts & Games
Sponsor	Unicorn Darts

Achievements

ADO	No.1 6 Times champion
Medalist Grand Master Singles	6 Times champion
Singapore Open	5 Times champion
Malaysian Open	5 Times champion
Asian Cup singles	5 Times champion
Unicorn Darts America	3 times champion
Pacific Cup singles	3 times champion
ADO National Cricket Singles	Twice champion
Pacific Masters Champion
Thailand Singles Open Champion
Australia Champion
World Cup Singles (Bronze)
Bullshooter Top Gun
Japan Darts Organisation 10th Anniversary	singles champ

Hundreds of singles, doubles, mixed doubles and mixed triples titles on the USA circuit

1st televised 9-dart game in Embassy World Championships, January 9th 1990. He scored his 9-darter as follows : 180, 180, 141 (3x20, 3x19, 2x12).

(credits: Unicorn Products Ltd)