"Maybe that's a step too far": Showman Ricky Evans steps back from special Christmas walk-on plan

Ricky Evans remains a special figure in modern darts. No one combines theater, mayhem and sheer joy of play on stage like the man who goes down the PDC circuit as "Rapid Ricky" But behind the lavish Christmas outfits and frantic walk-ons is also a player who yearns for sporting success at the World Darts Championship. On Friday, he will open his 11th entry into the tournament, in a first-round match against Hong Kong darter Man Lok Leung.

In his typical half-serious, half-joking style, Evans admits that this year he is once again balancing on the border of the permissible. “I would walk on with reindeer if I could, but maybe that’s a step too far," he says to BBC Radio Northampton.

He has been taking the stage for years with extravagant Christmas acts, and seems determined to steal the show this year as well. He reveals in advance that he is wearing a "wonderful Christmas shirt and Christmas trousers," complemented by enough accessories to put the Alexandra Palace into the festive spirit once again.

For someone known for his tomfoolery, Evans sounds remarkably relaxed on the eve of the tournament. Whereas the Ally Pally is a nerve-wracking arena for many, the pressure hardly seems to affect him.

"I’m excited to be on the biggest stage of them all. I can’t wait to play," he says. And about the excitement: “You’d think it would be nerve-wracking, but I’ve got used to it now. I just get a few goosebumps before they call my name.”

Still, one sporting objective lingers: finally getting past the third round. For years, the last 32 has remained his ceiling at the World Championship. Evans hopes his experience, combined with a touch of Christmas magic, breaks that pattern this year.

As with many players, the conversation quickly turns to Luke Littler, the 18-year-old defending champion who turned the entire darts landscape upside down after his sensational rise. According to Evans, the young Englishman's influence is immense.

“There are darts academies now and schools for kids playing darts, it’s unbelievable. When I was a kid it was football or rugby in the park. Now boys and girls are playing darts.”