Darts fans were overjoyed on Wednesday evening as Rapid Ricky Evans “came off the canvas” to KO Luke Woodhouse and advance to a major quarter-final
20:36, 12 Nov 2025
‘Rapid’ Ricky Evans performed a minor darting miracle to “come off the canvas” to advance to a major quarter-final on Wednesday evening.
Evans, 35, is a fan favourite – but the Kettering thrower has tended to fall short in major tournaments. And his clash with Luke Woodhouse looked to be heading the same route as the Shed raced into the lead.
Rapid was 8-5 down, and Woodhouse was already dreaming of a quarter-final spot, when Evans rallied to take out tops. And all of a sudden the tide was starting to shift.
Woodhouse, however, was able to win another leg and seemed destined to beat Rapid – but he couldn’t find the outer ring with match darts.
He missed 129 only to see Evans nail the bull to move within one. The Shed had another look at 129, but was unable to find the T19 – leaving the door open for Evans on D10.
Rapid had the darts and kept a faltering Woodhouse at arms length, nailing D10 as Sky Sports commentator Rod Studd announced he had “come back off the canvas”.
Wayne Mardle added: “A devastating loss for Luke Woodhouse. He got himself 8-5 in front, to go south from there…wow!”
“After a horrendous year for him away from the oche, it’s nice to see Ricky Evans having deep runs in tournaments One of the good guys,” one fan shared.
“Ricky Evans, that is phenomenal,” a second said. While a third posted: “The thing is Ricky Evans is winning the lot!”
And another added: “Let the Ricky Evans world champion title charge begin. We will be there!”
It’s been a tough year for Evans, who has been dealing with the tragic death of his sister. He shared the devastating news with an emotional post on Facebook back in March.
A series of pictures were shared by Evans alongside the touching caption: “My beautiful little sister Elisha… I love you so much. I’ll always be your best friend.”
