The Kettering star always puts on a show for his fans and he gave the obligatory festive performance on night two of Worlds
Rapid Ricky Evans gave his usual wacky Christmas show at the Ally Pally to spark the festive spirit.
The popular English star was full of cheer as he headed onto the stage for his Paddy Power World Championship clash with Man Lok Leung.
Evans reckons his mates call him the Michael Buble of darts and he didn’t let anyone down with his costume and performance before the first-round tie.
The Kettering star was dressed in his typical lairy Christmas outfit complete with a festive hat and specs. Evans also had a dance when he hit the stage and the crowd responded in perfect fashion with a singalong to his Shakin Stevens walk-on of ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ before belting out his name before the match started against Leung.
Evans never lets the crowds down and, speaking prior to the obligatory party performance, he told PDC website: “I’m a bit of a shy showman if that makes sense. I like people to know I’m there, I like to put on a show, but I’m also quite reserved as well. Ally Pally is always special. I love this tournament, which is weird for a bloke who hates Christmas!
“I don’t mind the party vibes and all that, but I don’t like receiving presents, watching the King’s Speech or the EastEnders specials. I’m a right Scrooge. I only like Christmas now if I’m still in the World Championship!”
“Some of my mates have called me the Michael Buble of darts. You don’t see me all year and then I just defrost in November! This is the big one though. It’s the one that everybody watches, and it’s going to be bigger than ever this year. The standard is ridiculous these days. I’ve been playing well this year, but I’ve lost too many tight games, particularly on the ProTour.
“If you put too much pressure on yourself it can become a horrible game. I tend to overthink everything, but I’m trying to simplify things now and be more positive, because I am confident in my game. I’m going to give myself some credit. I do believe darts is better when I’m playing better and I’m loving the game at the minute.”
Despite his happy-go-lucky demeanour, Evans has endured the toughest year of his career, following the heartbreaking death of his sister Elisha in March. He said: “Elisha was my best friend. If I did something daft she was the first to text me: What a stupid dart that was. Or: What a stupid walk-on. And I gave her plenty of opportunities to do that.
“She’s still with me, and although I don’t normally go in for the hearts and flowers stuff, I want to do well for her and I want to do well for my mum and dad because I’m all they’ve got left now. I want to make them proud.”
