Kettering's Ricky Evans to feature on first day of the World Championship

Kettering’s Ricky Evans will be in action on the opening night of the PDC William Hill World Darts Championship.

‘Rapid’ will take on Indian ace Nitin Kumar in the first round of the competition at the Alexandra Palace on the night of Wednesday, December 15 with the winner going on to face 22nd seed Daryl Gurney in the second round in what will be the final game of the afternoon session on the following day.

Kumar won the Indian qualifier to secure his spot at the 'Ally Pally' while Evans earned his place through the PDC ProTour Order of Merit.

Ever the entertainer, Evans is delighted that fans have been back at the major tournaments this year with the 2020 calendar having been wrecked by the Covid-19 pandemic when it came to fans being allowed into venues.

“We all missed the fans when they weren’t there,” the 31-year-old said.

“It will be good to have them back at the Worlds and I am definitely one of those players who needs the buzz of the crowd.

“It gets me going and I like to entertain them, I think I am good at that.”

Evans suffered a first-round exit in last week’s Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals at Butlin’s Minehead Resort as he was beaten 6-1 by James Wade.