In-form Evans all set for European Championship

The Kettering darts star will take on world number five Daryl Gurney in the first round of the competition, which is being staged at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, on Friday afternoon. The whole event will be screened live on ITV4.

Evans was in excellent form again in the 21st and 22nd Players Championship competitions in Barnsley as he officially confirmed his place in the Players Championship Finals and the William Hill World Championship later in the year.

In Players Championship 21, Evans secured wins over Jim Brown (6-3) and Jan Dekker (6-4) before he sealed an eye-catching 6-5 success over world number four Gary Anderson.

He then beat Stephen Burton 6-3 but was edged out 6-5 by former world champion Steve Beaton in the last eight.

Evans also had a good run to the last 16 in the final Players Championship event of the year as he recorded victories over Tytus Kanik (6-3), Toni Alcinas (6-0) and Mervyn King (6-4) before he fell to James Wade by a 6-4 scoreline.

The draw for the Players Championship Finals, which will be held at Butlins Minehead Resort between November 23 and 25 and will also be screened live on ITV4, has paired Evans will Dekker in the first round.

Evans did miss out on a place in the bwin World Series Finals, however, as he lost 6-3 to Christian Kist in the last 64.

It was another tough weekend for Rushden’s James Richardson who beat Ritchie Edhouse 6-3 in the first round of the World Series qualifier before losing out 6-5 to James Wilson.

In the first Players Championship event of the weekend, Richardson beat Darren Johnson 6-0 before going down 6-2 to Adam Hunt.

And, in the second competition, Richardson was beaten 6-1 by Kettering-based David Pallett in the first round with Pallett going on to lose 6-5 to Jermaine Wattimena.