Former darts world No1 who went bankrupt qualifies for World Championship at Ally Pally due to little-known rule
MERVYN KING has qualified for the PDC World Darts Championship thanks to a little-known rule.
The Ipswich thrower reached the final of the tournament back in 2004, only to lose to Andy Fordham.
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Mervyn King has qualified for the World Darts ChampionshipCredit: Rex
King, 59, will now make his return to Alexander Palace for the first time in three years.
It comes after the former world No1 declared bankruptcy last year in March which left him fearing for his home and three dogs.
He owed over £500,000 to HMRC in unpaid taxes, which was built up as he admitted he did not know he had to pay tax on his winnings from his darts career.
He booked his spot in the World Champs after finishing fourth in this year’s Challenge Tour Order of Merit.
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Usually, only the top three spots act as qualifying positions in the secondary tour for Ally Pally.
But King has benefited from a little-known rule which has seen one of the spots handed to him.
This is because the runner-up, Darius Labanauskas, has already qualified.
The Lithuanian earned his place in the showpiece tournament through his efforts in the PDC Pro Tour.
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This means that his qualifying spot was passed down to King after he reached the semi-finals of the last PDC Winmau Challenge Tour event of the season.
His run to the final four was enough to see him surpass Dutch ace Jamai van den Herik in the rankings.
‘The King’ now qualifies alongside the duo of Stefan Bellmont and Ted Evetts.
His last entry into the World Championship was in 2023 but he was knocked out in the third round by Rob Cross.
The year before, he was able to reach the quarter-finals as he knocked out Ryan Joyce, Steve Lennon and Raymond Smith.
However, his run came to an end as he was whitewashed 5-0 by James Wade.
He will now pocket £15k due to his qualification to the event and could add another £10k with a first-round win.
This would add some more cash to his account as he has won under £8k on the Challenge Tour in 2025.
King is currently ranked 122nd in the PDC world rankings.
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