Mervyn King (born 15 March 1966) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he reached a peak ranking of world number four. Nicknamed "the King", he has reached seven PDC major finals. He formerly competed in British Darts Organisation (BDO) tournaments, where he was the 2004 World Masters winner, and both the Finder Masters and International Darts League champion in 2005. He was ranked BDO world number one on two occasions, in 2000 and 2005.
He was the runner-up at the BDO World Darts Championship in both 2002 and 2004 as well as at the 2000 World Masters. In the PDC, King reached the semi-finals at the 2009 PDC World Championship, and was runner-up at the PDC Masters in both 2014 and 2021, the Players Championship Finals in 2010 and 2020, the 2009 Premier League Darts, the 2012 World Grand Prix, and the 2008 Championship League Darts.
Early life King first took up the game at the age of 12, playing with an old rolled-cardboard dartboard given to him by his father. His father insisted that he played darts using competition distance and height. By the age of 13, he had ambitions to become a professional player as he was playing county darts at Superleague level. His first county A game was at the age of 14 and he won his local men's singles league at that age.
BDO career King made his professional debut as a 28-year-old in the 1994 World Masters where he lost in the last 32 to Andy Fordham. His first title in the BDO came in the 1996 French Open where he beat Leo Laurens in the final. King has won several Open titles since he came onto the darts scene in 1995, including the Dutch Open in 1997. He made his debut at BDO World Darts Championship in 1997 as a 30-year-old. He reached the semi-final of the event beating Ronnie Baxter and Roland Scholten before losing to eventual champion Les Wallace. He won £8,700 for his performance.
King reached twelve major finals whilst playing in the BDO and converted only three of them into tournament victories. In 2004, he claimed his first BDO major title when he won the World Masters in Bridlington, defeating Tony O'Shea 7–6 in the final having trailed 3–5. His two other major victories to date have both taken place in the Netherlands. The first of these was the 2005 International Darts League, where he defeated O'Shea again in the final, this time by 13–11 in legs. Later the same year he added the Dutch Grand Masters beating Martin Adams 5–4 in the final.
His first major final came in the 2000 World Masters where he beat such players as Peter Manley and Colin Monk before eventually narrowly falling to John Walton 2 sets to 3. King went into the 2002 BDO World Darts Championship as number 4 in the event seedings and reached the final, losing to Australian Tony David. King beat Raymond van Barneveld in the quarter-finals 5–3 whilst averaging 101.67 before beating Colin Monk in the semi-finals to reach his first World Championship final. As well as winning £24,000 for reaching the final, he also earned a further £2,000 for a 170 finish, the highest checkout in the tournament.
2003 proved to be a good year for King as he reached two major finals and the semi-final of the World Championships. He began the year with the 2003 BDO World Darts Championship and was seeded third for the tournament. He whitewashed Colin Monk 5 sets to 0 in the quarter-finals before losing out to Raymond van Barneveld in the semi-finals, denying him a second consecutive World Championship final appearance He went on to reach the finals of the 2003 International Darts League and World Darts Trophy losing out to Raymond van Barneveld on both occasions.
In 2004, King had another successful year as he reached two semi-finals and two finals, winning one, in the four BDO majors. He began the year ranked third in the seedings for the second consecutive year. In the 2004 BDO World Darts Championship, he narrowly beat Ritchie Davies 5 sets to 4 in the quarter-finals before convincingly beating Tony O'Shea in the semi-finals 5–1. Despite this he lost in the final for the second time in three years losing to Andy Fordham 3 sets to 6. After his good World Championship form he went on to reach the semi-finals of the 2004 International Darts League and World Darts Trophy narrowly losing to Tony David and Martin Adams 8–9 and 4–5 respectively. He ended the year winning his first BDO Major in the World Masters as he beat Tony David in the semi-finals 6–2 before winning the tournament prevailing against Tony O'Shea in a tight encounter which ended 7–6 in favour of King handing him his first major title after his sixth final.
In 2005, he had his worst World Championship performance in four years, as he made only the quarter-finals, losing out to André Brantjes 2 sets to 3. King spoke of his poor form and prior to the 2005 BDO World Darts Championship. King's next tournament that year was the International Darts League. He beat Ted Hankey, Co Stompé and Simon Whitlock before facing Tony O'Shea for the second time in a major final, and won 13–11 to secure his second major BDO title. Also in 2005, King made the final of the World Darts Trophy for the second time and on this occasion he was beaten again losing 4–6 against Gary Robson. This was to be King's last major final before his controversial switch to the Professional Darts Corporation.
In 2006, King's form declined and his best result came in the 2006 World Darts Trophy where he made the quarter-finals narrowly losing to Michael van Gerwen 4–5. He also made only the second round in the 2006 BDO World Darts Championship whitewashing Brian Woods 3 sets to 0 before losing to eventual champion Jelle Klaasen 2–4. His last tournament as a BDO affiliated player came in the 2007 BDO World Darts Championship where he made the semi-finals before losing 4–5 against eventual champion Martin Adams. King was surrounded by controversy during this tournament following speculation about his future and a possible switch to the PDC. This would prove to be his last tournament as a BDO player.
PDC career
PDC switch and beginnings King's switch from the BDO to rival organization the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) created much debate and controversy. During the 2007 BDO World Darts Championship there was much speculation that King and three fellow BDO players (Michael van Gerwen, Jelle Klaasen and Vincent van der Voort) would be switching to the PDC after the World Championships. King was angry that rumours had surfaced and even threatened to quit the tournament as the speculation heightened even stating, "I'm really not happy with the treatment I've had today, not just from one person but from a lot of people who I have known for many years".King quit threat after PDC offer BBC Sport, 11 January 2007 Despite claiming to BDO press officer Robert Holmes that he would "rather pack up darts than play for the PDC" King announced his switch to the PDC on 6 February 2007 in a bid to "further his career".King joins exodus to PDC circuit BBC Sport, 6 February 2007 Having reached the semi-final of the 2007 BDO World Championships losing to eventual champion Martin Adams, King had signed a contract confirming he would play at the 2008 tournament due to a clause in all contracts of BDO players stating that if they reach the semi-finals of the World Championship they are obliged to return the following year, with champions committing themselves to three years. King's switch meant that the BDO threatened legal action against King.New event to bridge darts divide BBC Sport, 28 June 2011
King made his PDC debut at a non-televised event, the Southern Regional Final of the UK Open on 4 March 2007. He reached the quarter-finals before losing to Wayne Mardle. During his first year in the PDC, he performed well on the 2007 PDC Pro Tour, reaching one final, two semi-finals and four quarter-finals. He also gained a place in the 2007 World Matchplay where he reached the quarter-finals before losing to eventual champion James Wade. His performances in his first year helped him steadily climb the world rankings and qualify for his first PDC World Championship.
2008 In his debut at the 2008 PDC World Darts Championship, he fell to Dutchman Roland Scholten in the second round. 2008 proved a successful year for King as he reached two semi-finals in PDC premier events as well as his maiden PDC premier final in the inaugural 2008 Championship League Darts where he lost 7–5 to Phil Taylor.2008 Championship of Darts Results Darts Database, 28 June 2011 His first PDC title came at the Scottish Players Championship in Glasgow in April 2008 where he beat Taylor on his way to a 3–0 victory over Mark Dudbridge. He also won a Pro Tour title in the Netherlands, beating Raymond van Barneveld. He also had two semi-final appearances in the 2008 World Grand Prix and the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts losing to Raymond van Barneveld and Phil Taylor respectively. King ended the year and went into the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship as world number 13 in the PDC Order of Merit. His first year performances saw him win the Best Newcomer prize at the annual PDC awards dinner.
2009 King went into 2009 competing in the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship, and this turned out to be his best result in the PDC World Championship to date. He beat Barrie Bates in the quarter-finals before falling to Phil Taylor 2–6 with Taylor averaging 103.44. His performance in the World Championship meant that he moved up to 6 in the PDC Order of Merit and therefore qualified automatically for the 2009 Premier League Darts.2009 Premier League Darts Fixtures PDC.tv, 28 June 2011
King carried on his good form into the 2009 World Matchplay in July. He defeated Mark Dudbridge, Steve Beaton and Vincent van der Voort before meeting Phil Taylor in the semi-final. Taylor prevailed 17–6, averaging 106.54, and went on to win the tournament.2009 World Matchplay Results Darts Database, 28 June 2011 In the next PDC Premier event of the 2009 season, the 2009 European Championship, he reached the quarter-final before losing to James Wade 6–10. This was after beating Colin Osborne in the second round 9–6 recording a 104.00 average.2009 European Championship Results Darts Database, 28 June 2011 King's successful run in the 2008 Championship League Darts continued into the 2009 tournament as he reached the semi-final before losing to eventual champion Colin Osborne 1–6.2009 Championship of Darts Results Darts Database, 28 June 2011Wizard Is New CLD Champion! PDC.tv, 28 June 2011
Also in 2009, King achieved his first televised nine dart finish. It came in September 2009 at the South African Masters against James Wade, and was the first ever televised nine dart finish outside of Europe.
2009 Premier League