Kettering darts star Ricky Evans 'gutted' as he bows out of World Championships

Kettering's Ricky Evans ws beaten by Daryl Gurney in the third round of the 2023/24 Paddy Power World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace (Picture: Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

Kettering darts star Ricky Evans admits he is 'gutted' to have missed the chance to reach the last 16 of the PDC World Championship for the first time.

Evans was left to rue missed chances as he was beaten 4-2 by Daryl Gurney in a late night clash at Alexandra Palace on Thursday night, the Northern Irishman reeled off three straight sets to fight back from 2-1 down to clinch the win.

The match was fifth time that ‘Rapid’ Evans had reached the last 32 of the tournament, but he again he fell just short while ‘Super Chin’ Gurney goes on to take on 11th seed Dave Chisnall on Saturday afternoon for a place in the quarter-finals.

It was Gurney’s ton-plus finishing that inspired him to victory over Steve Beaton in the previous round, and it was a similar story against Evans, as he converted 164 and 130 checkouts in the latter stages to confirm his progress.

Ricky Evans in action against Daryl Gurney (Picture: Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

Evans, who had walked out to the strains of YMCA by the Village People, started brilliantly to claim the first set, but then missed a golden chance to go 2-0 ahead, with Gurney clawing the match back to 1-1.

The Kettering ace got himself together to regain the lead as he claimed the third set and put himself in the box seat, but 27th seed Gurney showed his class and experience to battle back and clinch a dramatic victory in a match that didn’t start until 10.30pm.

The pair are stable-mates with MDA Events and close friends, with Gurney even gave his old pal a smacker on the lips as he comiserated with him afterwards!!

"Gutted to go out, but I can take the positives from the past couple of weeks for sure," wrote Evans on X.

Daryl Gurney celebrated winning his round three match against Ricky Evans by landing a smacker on his lips! (Picture: by Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

"Well done to Daryl, and I wish him well for the rest. Five out of 10 for the kiss though!

"Here's to what I hope will be an amazing 2024.

"Thank you so much for all of your support as always."

The stats from the match were very close, with Evans hitting four maximums and averaging 93.23 compared to Gurney's seven 180s and 93.53, but the winner's doubles success rate was 37 per cent, six points better than Evans.

The Kettering player's highest checkout was the 130 he managed in the first leg of the match, while Gurney's was an impressive 164.