Darts legend Mervyn King opens up about the most challenging period of his career, revealing an arduous journey back to the professional circuit after losing his Tour Card and battling severe financial difficulties that led to bankruptcy. Despite these immense personal and professional hurdles, King’s passion for darts remains undimmed. He shares his story not for sympathy, but to warn younger players about financial pitfalls, proving that his fight to belong is far from over.
The Enduring Flame: A Veteran’s Passion for Darts
Mervyn King, a seasoned veteran of the darting world, speaks candidly about his career, confirming that his love for the game is as strong as ever. This unwavering passion persists despite the intense physical and mental demands of competing on today’s professional tour.
Adapting Practice: From BDO Days to PDC’s Hectic Schedule
Earlier in his career, during the BDO era, King’s dedication to practice was legendary. With a less crowded tournament calendar, he would spend between six and eight hours a day at the dartboard, honing his skills relentlessly.
However, the modern PDC schedule is packed, with events almost every week of the year. This demanding rhythm has naturally reshaped his training routine.
- Old Routine (BDO): Long gaps between events meant extensive home practice was essential to maintain sharpness.
- New Routine (PDC): The frequent tournaments themselves now serve as the primary practice, keeping players match-ready.
King explains, “These days you’re playing so often that the tournaments themselves almost become your practice. Back then you had long gaps between events, so you had to keep your sharpness up at home. Now the circuit keeps you match-ready.”
The Gauntlet of Q School: Earning Back His Place
Despite the hectic schedule, King’s competitive spirit remains fiercely alive. “If I didn’t enjoy it… the competition, the challenge of it all — then I wouldn’t have entered Q School,” he states.
After losing his coveted Tour Card, King faced the daunting prospect of returning to Q School – a notoriously demanding event where hundreds of hopefuls battle for a two-year professional spot. For players who have graced the biggest stages for years, this experience can feel like stepping into an entirely different world.
“You have to dig deep because everyone there is fighting for the same thing.”
Q School vs. Challenge Tour: A Different Kind of Pressure
Interestingly, King found the structure of Q School slightly more manageable compared to other development pathways like the Challenge Tour. He elaborates:
- Q School: One event per day.
- Challenge Tour: Can involve two tournaments a day, with five across a single weekend, leading to incredibly long and exhausting days if you progress deep into events.
Even with this difference, the pressure at Q School intensifies significantly as the week progresses, particularly when the race for a Tour Card tightens. King openly admits feeling this tension on the final day, realizing his position was precarious.
“I thought I was doing alright until I saw the standings and realised I needed to double my points,” he recalls. A crucial run to the semi-finals on that final day proved decisive, securing him enough points to regain his professional status.
More Than a Win: Reclaiming Identity
For a player who once held the world number one spot in the BDO and reached number four in the PDC, regaining his Tour Card was far more than just winning matches; it was deeply emotional. Losing his place on the tour felt, in many ways, like losing a part of his identity.
“No one actually tells you that you can’t play anymore,” he reflects, “But when you lose your card, that’s what it feels like.”
His return this time feels different and more meaningful. “It’s different now because I’m meant to be there again,” King explains. “Last year I was getting invitations through Challenge Tour spots. This time I earned my place back properly.”
The Road Ahead: Rebuilding His Game
While the path forward remains challenging, King is confident his game is steadily returning to the high standard he expects of himself. “The scoring is coming back. I’m hitting high-90 averages again and that’s encouraging,” he says, with the clear aim to build on this progress over the next couple of years.
The Shadow of Debt: Mervyn King’s Bankruptcy Battle
Away from the dartboard, King has navigated one of the most difficult periods of his life: a lengthy dispute with tax authorities that ultimately resulted in bankruptcy. He candidly admits the situation originated from a fundamental misunderstanding early in his career about how prize money should be treated.
“When I first started out, I thought prize money was ‘winnings’ rather than earnings,” he reveals. “I didn’t realise it needed to be taxed in the same way.”
By the time he investigated the situation properly, the problem had escalated significantly. “I looked at the numbers and realised how much I owed. I thought there was no way I could pay it straight away and assumed I could deal with it later as my earnings increased.”
This assumption proved costly. Years of accumulating penalties and interest made the debt unmanageable, leading to bankruptcy. The grim consequences included the seizure of several of King’s assets and the freezing of his financial accounts. “My motorcycle and other possessions were taken and my accounts were locked,” he recounts.
A Clean Slate: Moving Forward
Recently, however, the 59-year-old received welcome news: his bankruptcy period has officially concluded. This significant development offers him the opportunity to move forward with a clean financial slate.
King chose to speak publicly about his financial struggles not to garner sympathy, but to serve as a stark warning to younger professionals about the critical importance of understanding and fulfilling their financial responsibilities. “If telling my story helps even one player avoid the same situation, then it’s worth it,” he emphasizes.
He strongly urges players to utilize the support systems now available within the sport, particularly through the Professional Darts Players Association (PDPA), which offers guidance and assistance to its members.
The Unyielding Spirit: No Retirement in Sight
Despite everything he has endured both on and off the oche, retirement is not on Mervyn King’s radar. While he no longer sets targets based purely on titles or trophies, his determination remains focused on rediscovering the natural rhythm that once made him one of the most feared scorers in darts.
“My goal now is to get my throw back to feeling natural again,” he explains. “When you’re not thinking about it and everything flows, that’s when the big averages come.”
For a player who has spent decades competing at the highest level, his ultimate motivation remains refreshingly simple: “To be the last man standing at the end of the tournament — that’s always been the aim.”
If Mervyn King has demonstrated anything throughout his long and storied career, it is that underestimating his resilience and writing him off too soon is rarely a wise decision.
Source: Based on an article from Darts Planet TV.
