Kettering's 'Rapid' Ricky heading for the Grand Slam

Kettering’s Ricky Evans will be back on the televised stage next week after he secured a spot in the BoyleSports Grand Slam of Darts.

Competing in yesterday’s (Monday) PDC Tour Card Holder Qualifier in Coventry, ‘Rapid’ came through four tough encounters to seal his first appearance in the competition since 2013.

The qualifier was the first part of the PDC ProTour’s Winter Series at the Ricoh Arena, which is where next week’s Grand Slam of Darts will also take place.

Evans, who is currently ranked number 31 on the PDC Order of Merit, defeated Darren Webster 5-3 in his opening match of the qualifier before then edging past Kim Huybrechts 5-4.

Evans picked up a notable 5-4 success over world number seven in the last 32 and then, in the final match, he saw off former world champion Steve Beaton 5-2 to secure his spot.

The remainder of the Winter Series this week will see players bidding to boost their rankings on the Players Championship Order of Merit with the top 64 players returning to Coventry for the Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals later this month.

The William Hill World Darts Championship will also be on the minds of players at the Winter Series with the top 32 players on the PDC ProTour Order of Merit entering in the first round while the top 32 players on the PDC Order of Merit will begin their campaigns in round two.