History was created at the WDF World Masters as Chris Lim became the first American to be crowned champion in the prestigious tournament’s fifty-plus-year existence, defeating Brian Raman in a thrilling last-leg decider.
They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. However, this news won’t. Lim’s victory will reverberate around the globe following the Californian native’s roar, louder than a lion stepping on Lego.
That said, we shouldn’t be too surprised. Chris is the son of the legendary Paul Lim. So right there, you have the pedigree of a Kentucky Derby winner. And given the legendary Singapore Slinger’s freakish longevity, Lim Jnr could be lifting this silverware when the event celebrates its one hundredth year anniversary. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but you get the point.
Nicknamed ‘Lightning’, a nickname that would be wasted on Mickey Mansell, Lim breezed past the Dutch threat of Stefan Schroder in the semis. At the same time, his opponent in the final, Brian Raman, was defeating Welsh maestro Sean Fisher by the identical 6-1 scoreline.
Whilst those last-four encounters may not have involved much drama, the showdown certainly did. We aren’t too used to Belgian arrow-smiths participating in the latter stages of big events these days, so Raman will probably get a statue back home after this. Perhaps a tiny one made of tungsten on the outskirts of Wuustwezel.
It was The Riddler who began the better, taking an early 3-1 lead over the golf fanatic, who no doubt would have been glued to The Open if he wasn’t trying to make history. Once Lim got back into the contest, the pair more or less exchanged blows until it came down to a solitary leg to decide who would grab the glory.
And this would be a dreadfully misleading write-up if it wasn’t the American who pinched it, much to the delight, I imagine, of those spectators in the Rio Hotel watching on. Huge congratulations to Chris. Commiserations to Rambo (probably only what I call him!), who put up a great fight. But in the end, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.
Onto the Ladies tournament, and gold went the way of Gemma Hayter who, after seeing off Wales’ Rhian O’Sullivan in her semi-final, was too good for the young Italian, Aurora Fochesato, with a solid 6-3 win.
The polemical Eastleigh chucker may have the social media tact of a family of hippos holding a 4am rave, but when she isn’t on her laptop being contradictory, she is a very competent player, as she once again showed.
Hats off to Aurora, who at just 20 years old clearly has a bright future in the game. But congratulations to Hayter, who after this weekend will see both her bank balance and ego rise exponentially. Just kiddin’, Gem! But that’s what happens when you say a writer’s work “isn’t very good”. No such criticism of your skillset from me – very well played indeed. All the best in Blackpool, and try not to anger those menacing seagulls again!
In the youth events, Ruby Grey claimed yet another title – her fourth of the week. And in some fashion or other, each involved her good friend, Paige Pauling.
The English duo cleaned up in the Pairs events. Then Grey edged the Girls’ Open final. She then stole another ‘Paige’ out of her compatriot’s book by bagging yet another trophy, defeating Pauling 5-0 in the final.
If you look at the youngsters’ almost identical averages, the whitewash scoreline doesn’t really tell the story. However, despite Paige being extremely close to the line in all five legs, Ruby didn’t give her the chance to return a peg to the board.
But all in all, it’s been a dream weekend for the deadly duo – especially Ruby, who will now be trying to add additional luggage to her trip home.
Then the last final to mention: a win for Germany, as Benjamin Dopfer defeated his fellow countryman Eric Petereit 6-2 to claim the honours in the Youth Masters showdown.
At just 16 years old, Dopfer is one of a huge talent pool of incredibly brilliant teenagers set to take the sport into the next decade and beyond. Surely it won’t be long before we eventually see a Deutschland major champion in the PDC. After all, they end up playing enough tournaments there!
So, a huge virtual round of applause to all the winners and, of course, a very well done but unlucky to those brave runners-up.
Whatever your thoughts about switching the WDF World Masters to practically the other side of the planet at short notice are – and believe me, I have my own personal views – you can’t knock the quality of the tournament.
