King aims to blow away rivals

By PHIL LANNING

Published: 10 Feb 2009
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MERVYN KING sparked outrage by claiming AIR CONDITIONING blew his darts off course in a World Championship semi-final — and now he’s ready to blow away his Premier League rivals.

Nearly man King has missed out in two BDO Lakeside world finals to Aussie Tony David in 2002 and Andy Fordham in 2004.

But sandwiched between them was a semi defeat to Raymond van Barneveld and his outburst that the air con had ruined his game.

King, 42, is much more mild-mannered these days and is finding his Whyte & Mackay debut a breeze, hitting the top of the table after the opening clashes with an 8-1 thrashing of Wayne Mardle.

He said: "I'm better than I used to be but I definitely speak my mind, I don't hold back. I don't take any s***.

"It was a fact that the air con ruined my game against Barney in that semi-final and I made that blatantly clear.

"I certainly won't be a pushover and my rivals know that. I haven't done the business in a big final yet but I will do. I'm a fighter.

“It’s very early days in the league but it was a good feeling to make such a good start in Liverpool last week.

“Wayne’s a difficult bloke to play against because he can be a world beater when he wants to be, so you have to prepare to play him at his very best.

“It’s nice to lead the table but to be honest it would feel even better if I was leading it at week 12 or 13.

“Consistency is the key in the Premier League, you can’t lose that many matches so that’s what makes this Thursday in Edinburgh so vital. If I can get off to a good start with two wins I will establish myself in the top four early on.

“It’s all about making the top four. Once you get into the semi-finals anything can happen."

Now he faces World No 2 James Wade in Edinburgh tomorrow night — hoping that Scotland brings him more glory.

He added: “The crucial thing for me is that I peak at the right times during the league.

"I have good consistency but I have times when I play really well. If I can do that against the big players then I know I can do well.

“I’m certainly not in the Premier League to just make up the numbers. I qualified on merit as World No 6 and I reckon I can make the play-offs. If I play to my best ability in the semi-finals I can beat anyone.

“But firstly I need to just make the top four. If I can win in Edinburgh then I’ll stay top of the league and I’ll be very happy.

“James is a very tough player, you don’t become world No 2 by a fluke. He’s not at his beest right now but he’s still a very hard player to beat.

"But I’m feeling good and I’ve got the game to win.

“I certainly won’t let the air con upset me anyway. I’m a much cooler character these days." (story source...)