"I'm not worried about who I play" - Former World Matchplay champion targeting sensational return to the big time aged 60

The 2024 World Matchplay is taking place in the iconic Winter Gardens, Blackpool this week with some of the sport's biggest names in action. Turn the clock back to 1996 however, and the likes of Phil Taylor, Dennis Priestley and a certain Peter Evison were competing for the prestigious title.

Evison managed to claim the win that year, beating Dennis Priestley 16-14 in the final, averaging over 100 in the process. Whilst 'The Fen Tiger' never managed to claim more PDC major glory, Evison did three times reach the semi-finals of the World Darts Championships and in 2002, the semis of the World Grand Prix. After being forced into retirement due to injury however, the now 60-year-old is targeting a sensational return to the big time in 2024.

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"I was in the gym and I felt something go in my arm, so I stopped. That night, I went to play darts and it felt stiff," Evison recalls of his injury in conversation The Mirror. "When I threw the dart, it hit the skirting board, it was nowhere near the dartboard. I thought, 'what's going on here?' I couldn't throw a dart. I started doing more in the gym and it was getting a little better. I stopped playing, then started again. On the back of the elbow, it went all flabby, like there was no muscle there."

Now though, after some time spent recovering, the 1996 World Matchplay champion has decided isn't quite done with a darting career. "Now, it's nearly back to normal. I look at it near enough every day. With the amount of work I've been putting in, in the gym, it's coming back to normal," he explains. "In the next few weeks, I will start playing again to see if the muscle has fully repaired."

Depending on how he feels at the time, Evison is even planning a trip to Q-School in January with the hopes of an incredible return to the PDC Pro Tour or if not that, perhaps the WSDT. "I'll go back, either in the PDC Q-School or the Seniors Tour. It depends if my arm's good enough and if I can get my mind back to normal, so I'm not worried about who I play."

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