"Get a proper accountant" - Mervyn King jokingly offers key piece of advice amid prior troubles with money

Mervyn King is back on the big stage once more. After securing his Tour Card via Q-School in January, he is now a regular face on the PDC Tour again. While is form is not reminiscent of him in his absolute pomp, he is hugely relieved to be playing among the best again.

He was pictured as an emotional figure when he clinched back his Tour Card after losing it in 2024, ending a 14-year stint. "It was absolutely brilliant," King stated. "As you say, I was very emotional. I slogged my guts out for four days and managed to fall over the line on the last day, double my points and just get my Tour Card. That meant the absolute world to me."

He reminisced on his BDO days before making an impression on the PDC Tour. He was crowned as Winmau World Masters champion back in 2004 when he defeated Tony O'Shea in the final. While the interview beieved it was his first major title, King was quick to correct him.

"Well, it actually wasn’t my first," he said. My first was the British Open in 1996. I beat Wayne Mardle at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool. There were about three and a half thousand men’s singles entries, so that was a huge major.

It was a long process with many setbacks and defeats along the way. "That was my first big title. Between then and the World Masters, I lost a lot of finals. Then I beat Tony in the World Masters final and, five months later, I won the England Open and beat him in the final again. So I probably wasn’t his favourite person — let’s put it that way."

He built up a strong reputation ahead of making the permanent switch to the PDC. He recalled his favourite moment. "Probably smashing Phil Taylor in the semi-finals of the Premier League. What happened after that in the final wasn’t so great, but there you go."

King defeated 'The Power' 10-6 in his first ever Premier League campaign. He was defeated in the final against James Wade 13-8 while averaging in the mid-80's, making it seemingly another opportunity missed.

It was not the only major PDC final he missed out on. He lost in the Players Championship Finals final in 2010 and 2020 as well as losing to Michael van Gerwen in the 2012 World Grand Prix. Away from ranking titles, two Masters finals and the Champions League were more close calls added to the Premier League.

King admitted that the latest one was his biggest missed opportunity. "I could say the Players Championship Finals against Van Gerwen because I didn’t actually get a shot at the 45 in the deciding leg. But there were a couple of legs before that where I should’ve sewn the match up, so that was probably the most disappointing one for me."

He is not competing at that very high level at the moment, currently ranked world number 112 as he comes from zero after securing his Tour Card. He has a year and a half to get enough money to be in the top 64 so he can regain his Tour Card and continue playing on at least for another year.

He is dearly hoping for the chance to qualify and compete for the biggest titles on offer once more. "I hope so. It hasn’t quite gone my way yet, but I’m still hitting 100-plus averages, so the game is still there, even at 60 years old.

"If I can just find a longer stretch of form — because I used to be able to call on the gears whenever I wanted, and now they turn up when they want to, not when I want them to — then who knows? Maybe."

Finally, King was asked to offer one piece of advice to the viewers. Typical King, he stated: "Get a proper accountant."