Darts: Fordham delighted with first world title

Andy Fordham finally ended a 10-year wait when he defeated Mervyn King in the final of the Lakeside BDO World Championship here last night.

The 41-year-old, who defeated the three-time champion and favourite, Raymond van Barneveld, 5-4 in the semi-finals, is a former Winmau World Masters champion. But it is the British Darts Organisation's premier tournament which has been his main target for a decade.

Fordham, four times a semi-finalist and one of the most popular players on the circuit, produced a superb performance to seal a 6-3 win over King, who had defeated Tony O'Shea to reach the final.

"It was a fantastic feeling when I won the match," Fordham said, "but I don't think it has sunk in yet. It's unbelievable. I thought I would be a little bit tired after the game against Van Barneveld but I felt fine. When it went 3-3 in sets I just told myself to stick in there and stay focused. It worked out for me.

"I had a little cry after the game but by tomorrow there will be tears all over the place," the Woolwich man added.

King, the No 3 seed, took the first set but Fordham started to find his range at the start of the second and, having drawn level, went 2-1 ahead by reeling off three straight legs.

"The Viking" was on the rampage and edged the fourth set with a successful attempt at double two. However, King won the last set before the interval to keep himself in the match.

The next two sets were shared and the two players could not be separated after another four legs of high-quality darts. But Fordham, who had dropped just short on previous attempts at double top, landed his third dart right in the middle to complete a 139 checkout.

King won the first two legs of the ninth set, but Fordham levelled up before taking out double eight to win his first world title.

"It was not a fantastic game of darts," King said. "The way I played tonight I did not expect to win. Andy played well, he was rock solid as normal."