King rules in Glasgow

Maiden win for former BDO star

Last updated: 23rd April 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

King rules in Glasgow

King: maiden PDC win

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Mervyn King won his first PDC title with a whitewash of Mark Dudbridge in the Scottish Sun Scottish Players Championship.

King has been on the PDC circuit for just over a year, and picked up his maiden victory in style at Glasgow's Thistle Hotel.

He ended Phil Taylor's run of PDC Pro Tour wins in the last 16, and failed to drop a set in his final three games.

King defeated Kevin McDine in straight sets in the quarter-finals, before whitewashing both Mick McGowan - in the semis - and Dudbridge to pick up the £5,000 cheque.

"I'm very happy," said King. "It's hopefully my first title of many and it means a lot to me for the hard work I've put in over the past year.

"My best game was probably defeating Phil, as it had to be, but I was delighted to finish strongly too and get the win."

King had earlier ended Taylor's bid for a seventh successive PDC Pro Tour victory at the last 16 stage - meaning that Taylor's unbeaten run since mid-March was ended at 44 games, matching his tally in the first four years of the Premier League which also ended in Glasgow, back in January.

Dudbridge edged out Vincent van der Voort in a thrilling deciding leg of their semi-final, with the Dutchman missing four match darts before Dudbridge landed double ten for the win.

The Bristolian, in his first PDC Pro Tour final of 2008, also defeated Ronnie Baxter, Dennis Smith, Mark Jones and Steve Cusick in the event.

Earlier in the day, Colin Osborne hit his third nine-darter in professional competition during his first round win over Lionel Sams.

Osborne claimed a £1,200 for the feat, which came in a run of legs of 11, 11, 9 and 11 darts which swept him to victory.

Newcomer Louis Blundell claimed the scalp of Wayne Mardle with a 105 finish in the deciding leg of their contest, while McGowan enjoyed his best run of the year by reaching the semis.

Quarter-Finals
Mervyn King 3-0 Kevin McDine
Mick McGowan 3-2 Colin Osborne
Vincent van der Voort 3-2 Mark Walsh
Mark Dudbridge 3-0 Ronnie Baxter
Losers £600

Semi-Finals
Mervyn King 3-0 Mick McGowan (2-0, 2-0, 2-0)
Mark Dudbridge 3-2 Vincent van der Voort (0-2, 2-0, 2-0, 1-2, 2-1)
Losers £1,250

Final
Mervyn King 3-0 Mark Dudbridge (2-0, 2-0, 2-0)
Winner £5,000, Runner-Up £2,500