Crowd favourite Andy Fordham produced the performance of his life tonight to secure a 6-3 win over Mervyn King in the final of the Lakeside World Championship.
The 41-year-old 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. Many people questioned whether the gentle giant would have recovered in time following his stunning comeback victory over three-time champion Raymond van Barneveld just 24 hours ago.
But 'The Viking' - a four-time semi-finalist and one of the most popular players on the circuit - produced the performance of his life to seal a six-sets-to-three win over the number three seed.
King made a confident start in front of a capacity crowd at the Surrey venue, clinching the opening leg against the darts with his first attempt at double 16.
The Ipswich thrower followed up with another successful attempt at double 16 before Fordham responded with an 11-darter. The referee asked the photographers to stop taking pictures when the players were throwing after the second leg. But it did not break King's concentration and he took out double 16 to win the first set.
Fordham started to find his range at the start of the second and nailed double 16 and 10 to open up a two-leg lead. King pulled one back with his favourite double 16, but Fordham levelled the score with double 10. Fordham, who is now based in Dartford, then stepped up a gear and reeled off three straight legs to move 2-1 ahead.
'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.