Former darts player Mervyn King is resigned to losing his home after being declared bankrupt.
King, who was once ranked fourth in the PDC order of merit, was made insolvent at the High Court of Justice in London last Tuesday.
The 58-year-old’s financial troubles stem from him believing the money he made during his darts career were winnings rather than earnings.
As a result, King never made the earnings known to the tax authorities.
In an interview with The Sun, King revealed he owes upwards of £500,000 to HMRC due to not paying his taxes.
Although King understands he could lose his home, it is the issue of finding a new place where he can take his wife and three dogs – a Pyrenean Mountain Dog, a Pyrenees-Newfoundland cross and a Golden Retriever – that is a major ‘worry’.
“Tracey is worried that we’re going to lose the house,” King said.
“But if we do, we do. There’s nothing I can do about that. It’s all down to the official receiver and what he wants to do.
“I’ll have to deal with him fairly and honestly, so anything he wants to know, he can have.
“I made the move to contact them. I knew this was coming. It was better than them finding me and saying, ‘Excuse us Mr King, why haven’t you paid tax for 20 years?’. Because I think I’d have been straight inside.
“Now it’s all going to be cleared one way or another — whether I lose everything and the house goes. If it does, then at least it’s back to square one and I’ll start again.
“The dogs are a worry. If they take the house, we’re going to have to find somewhere to live.
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“We’ll have to take the dogs with us.
“Over the past four or five years, I haven’t slept a lot at night, worrying about this.
“The trouble is you think the gravy train will last for ever and it doesn’t.
“I cannot turn back time, unfortunately.”
King revealed he realised just how deep his financial worries were when he began delivering parcels for Amazon during COVID.
Since then, the 58-year-old has simply ‘been trying to survive’.
King made waves on the WDF circuit where he won the World Masters, Finder Masters and the International Darts League before joining the PDC in 2007.
He was also a finalist at the BDO World Darts Championship in 2004.
Following his move, King was unable to win a premier PDC event but came agonisingly close on a number of occasions.
He finished runner-up at the World Grand Prix (2012), the Championship League (2008), the Premier League (2009), the Masters (2014 and 2021) as well as the Players Championship finals (2010, 2020).
King also enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals of the World Darts Championship as recently as 2022.
