“Things have to change – you can’t run players ragged”: Mervyn King sends stark warning to PDC

Mervyn King has called on the PDC to “look after all players” as he warned that the relentless schedule risks burning out even the sport’s brightest young stars.

The 59-year-old veteran, who lost his PDC Tour Card at the end of last year, says the game needs a rethink before it runs its players into the ground.

“You can’t run players ragged like they’re doing,” King told Online Darts. “The young players think that’s fine now, but wait until they can’t perform like they used to. You need to look after everyone — not just the new blood and the top-ranked ones. The up-and-coming players can burn out, you know.”

King may no longer hold a Tour Card, but his desire to compete remains intact. The man from Norfolk is grinding on the Challenge Tour in a bid to earn his way back onto the main circuit.

“Not bad, mate,” he says with his trademark dryness when asked how things are going. “I’m sort of getting used to not having a Tour Card. It’s not a feeling I want to welcome on board, but I’ve not had much choice. So I’m doing my best to play well enough on the Challenge Tour to hopefully get it back this year.”

The former World Championship finalist remains in contention despite mixed results. “I had a bad weekend on the last Challenge Tour,” he admits. “Didn’t pick up and dropped a place. That didn’t go according to plan. But we’ve got four left, and if I can play as well as I had been earlier in the year, there’s no reason why I can’t.”

The fire’s still there — even if consistency is harder to find. “When my game turns up, it’s good enough to beat anybody,” King insists. “But it’s not like it used to be. The gears aren’t there like they were years ago. I can call on them, but sometimes they just don’t show up. If it turns up, great. If it doesn’t, not so good.”

That blunt self-awareness sums up a player who’s seen every side of the sport. King has spent decades near the top of the game, competing in major finals and racking up ranking points, but admits the ageing process has its own brutal honesty.

“I think getting older has shown its face now — my form turns up when it wants to, not when I want it to,” he says. “Hopefully it’ll turn up and I can produce some good darts.”

King’s last deep run at the World Championship still stings. “When I got to the quarters and lost to James Wade, the game I played against James was pathetic, to be honest,” he recalls.

“Every game I had at the Worlds that year was first on — early, early, early. The more you play, the more tired you get. It takes its toll. I think that was a lot of the reason I didn’t play as well as I had been. It got in my head and I felt it sliding from there really.”

He adds with quiet defiance: “I’m probably practising more now than I ever have, so hopefully the fruits of that practice will come through.”

Away from darts, King has been open about difficult personal circumstances — including financial struggles and his concern for his dogs, who he calls his “life”.

“Mervyn King’s still in the same position,” he says. "Trying to sort everything out along with them, but they’re not being the most helpful people in the world. Admittedly, they’ve got a job to do and they don’t care — they’re not going to listen to sob stories. But that’s the way it is. We’ll come out of it at the end, one way or another. Simple as that.”

Even through hardship, his resilience remains unshaken. “I’ve always been a fighter, on and off the oche. But honestly, there have been times where I’ve thought, ‘You know what? I’ve had enough.’ It’s got me like that a couple of times over the last year. But we’re still here, still battling. We’ll see what happens.”

King insists he won’t overcommit again if he returns to the main tour. “If I get back up in the top echelons, I won’t say yes to everything like I used to. I’ll take what’s right for me. Sometimes it’s just too much, and they need to take that into consideration.”

For him, darts is personal. “You’re up there doing it for you and your family, so you’ve got to do what’s right for you and your family. That’s what it’s all about.”

Whether he wins his Tour Card back or not, Mervyn King remains one of the sport’s most forthright voices — a man who’s never been afraid to speak up for fairness and common sense.

“We’re still here,” he says with a grin. “Still battling. That’s what I’ve always done — and what I’ll always do.”