Ricky Evans has made his return to darts action, less than a fortnight after the death of his sister Elisha.
Elisha, the younger sister of 34-year-old star Evans, died suddenly earlier in the year. Her brother led the tributes, sharing photos of them together on social media.
“My beautiful little sister Elisha… I love you so much. I’ll always be your best friend.” the player known as ‘Rapid Ricky’ wrote on Facebook.
Evans has been out of action since a narrow defeat to Dave Chisnall at the UK Open at the end of February. He returned to the oche on Tuesday, though, taking on Nathan Rafferty at a Players Championship event in Leicester.
“Back to the day job, and two Players Championship events in Leicester,” Evans wrote on social media ahead of his return. “I played ok at the UK Open, and felt unlucky to miss out against Dave, but I’m focused on getting some good results here. Thanks for the love you’ve given me over the last couple of weeks.”
A number of fans wished him luck in Leicester, with others sending longer messages of support. “Hope you can find a pleasant distraction while on the oche by playing brilliantly at the game you love,” wrote one.
Evans was unable to return with a win, losing 6-2 to Rafferty in the round of 64. The tournament was eventually won by Joe Cullen, who claimed a narrow 8-7 victory over Gian van Veen in the final.
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World champion Luke Littler made another deep run in Leicester on Tuesday, recording a nine-darter against Adam Hunt along the way. He eventually fell at the semi-final stage, though, with Van Veen denying him a chance to follow his Belgian Darts Open win with another title.
Van Veen looked set to win the final when he opened up a 7-4 lead over Cullen, only for the 35-year-old to mount a stirring comeback. “I think this is the best win of my career, because of the adversity I have had to endure over the last year,” the Englishman said after his triumph (via Sky Sports).
“When you’re slipping down the rankings and you’re doubting yourself, there is nothing worse in darts. I had all sorts going on away from darts and I wasn’t practising. There was no motivation there and that’s why I slid down the rankings, but ultimately the buck stops with me.
“I think I’m down to number 22 in the world. There’s not 21 players that are better than me in the world, but the rankings don’t lie. I’m there for a reason, but I am doing everything I can to get myself back up those rankings.”
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