Mervyn King

Mervyn King

Published: Tuesday, 30 October 2007, 2:28PM


Born: March 15 1966,
Place of birth: Ipswich
Hometown: Bradwell, Norfolk
Nickname: The King
Darts: 22g Datadart Mervyn King

Mervyn took the decision to join the PDC circuit in February 2007, having previously won the World Masters and International Darts League titles on the BDO/WDF scene.

An established player at the top of the sport, he took up darts seriously in 1995, winning the French Open the following year and the Dutch Open in 1997.

Further titles at the Finnish Open, British Classic, British Open, Swiss Open and Dutch Grand Masters events followed, and he lifted the World Masters trophy in 2004.

That was followed in May 2005 with victory in the International Darts League, although he has twice lost in the World Darts Trophy final in Holland.

King has also suffered defeat in the Lakeside Championship final on two occasions, in 2002 and 2004 to Tony David and Andy Fordham.

He had reached the semi-finals on his Lakeside debut in 1997, when his record of 30 180s in the event was a new record, and he also made the last four in 2003 and 2007, losing to eventual winners Raymond van Barneveld and Martin Adams.

He made a swift impact in the PDC, reaching the semi-finals of the Masters of Darts and the quarter-finals of the PDC US Open.

He also qualified for the UK Open, Las Vegas Desert Classic, World Matchplay and World Grand Prix as well as the semi-finals of the World Darts Trophy during 2007, and one Players Championship Final.

His PDC World Championship debut ended in a last 32 defeat to Roland Scholten, and he claimed his first PDC title at the Scottish Players Championship in Glasgow in April 2008.

Further appearances in the UK Open, Desert Classic and World Matchplay were followed by a golden run of form in the autumn on 2008.

A run to the semi-final of the World Grand Prix was followed by an appearance in the inaugural Championship League Darts Final for the internet-screened event.

He also reached the last four at the Grand Slam of Darts, losing to Phil Taylor, and won a Players Championship in Holland as he broke into the PDC's top ten.

A run to the semi-finals at the World Championship, again losing to Taylor, saw him reach sixth in the PDC Order of Merit and an automatic Premier League spot.

He was a quarter-finalist at the end of January 2009 in the Players Championship Finals at Purfleet, and his form continued in a brilliant debut campaign in the Premier League.

King won his first four matches and eventually finished fourth, but defeated reigning champion Taylor in the play-offs before losing in the final to James Wade.

Michael Barnard ended his UK Open hopes in the first round, but King bounced back to be a quarter-finalist in the Desert Classic, losing to van Barneveld, and then a semi-final in the World Matchplay, where Taylor gained revenge for his Premier League defeat.

The autumn saw King reach the second round at the World Grand Prix and the quarter-finals of the European Championship, and also featured a live televised nine-darter during the semi-finals of the Virgin Atlantic South African Masters - although he went on to lose to James Wade.