Bankrupt darts legend reveals advice to Luke Littler after not realising he had to pay taxes on winnings

Mervyn King has joked that the single best piece of advice he could offer any aspiring darts player is simple — “get a proper accountant.”

The veteran thrower made the remark during a TikTok interview after battling back from bankruptcy last year following an unpaid £500,000 tax bill owed to HMRC.

“The King” later admitted he had not fully understood he needed to pay tax on prize money earned during his long darts career — a mistake that left him fearing he could lose both his home and his beloved dogs.

But the 60-year-old completed an emotional return to the professional circuit earlier this year by securing a Tour Card after reaching the semi-finals on the final day of Q School in Milton Keynes.

Speaking to BigJake on TikTok, King said: “It was absolutely brilliant. I was so emotional.

“I worked my guts out for four days and managed to get over the line on the final day.

“I doubled my points and just got my Tour Card back, and that meant absolutely everything to me.”

The Suffolk ace has endured a difficult start to the season, with a last-16 appearance at Players Championship Eight standing as his best run so far.

Despite that, King insists he still believes he can qualify for major televised tournaments.

He said: “I hope so. It hasn’t really gone my way yet, but I’m still producing 100-plus averages, so the game is definitely still there — even at 60 years old.

“The difference now is that I can’t always find those extra gears when I need them.

“Years ago I could call on them whenever I wanted. Now they tend to appear when they want to.

“But if they start sticking around for longer than just one day at a time, then who knows what could happen.”