Ricky Evans once reached a European Tour final without wearing any underwear: "Shouldn’t have done what I did and I had no spares"

Ricky Evans has recently shared a remarkable anecdote: the English crowd favorite once played part of a professional tournament without underwear. During the 2018 Dutch Darts Championship, “Rapid Ricky” reached the final while standing at the oche without underwear for three matches.

The Kettering darter impressed on the European Tour in Maastricht. Evans tore through the draw at his trademark blistering pace and reached the final, where he ultimately lost 8-5 to Ian White. What nobody knew at the time: Evans played the latter rounds of the tournament without boxers.

Only years later has the remarkable story come to light. Speaking to talkSPORT, Evans admitted the incident came down to a mix of a bad meal, nerves, and a lack of spare clothing. “I got to the final once on the European Tour in Maastricht and I played Ian White,” Evans said. “I played with no pants on.”

The Englishman laughed as he told the story, though he didn’t want to delve too deeply into the exact details of what went wrong. "I don’t really want to go into detail because we had food and I didn’t really help myself,” he said. “I shouldn’t have done what I did and I had no spares. So, I took them off, chucked them in the bin, and I played the next three games without any boxers."

According to Evans, a combination of nerves and fast food likely played a role in the incident. He still recalls his then-manager grabbing food with Stephen Bunting before they were set to drive home. “I think I might have had McDonald’s and maybe the adrenaline or pressure of winning games. I thought it was safe, but it backfired.”

What began as an awkward stopgap surprisingly had little impact on his performance at the oche. In fact, Evans felt it even gave him a slight edge. " “It was brilliant, a bit of air. I remember one of the games my zip was not going up and I thought this is just what I need."

Meanwhile, Evans just kept winning. On his way to the final, he took out Joe Cullen and William O’Connor among others, without anyone in the arena or backstage noticing the unusual situation. "I remember the players I beat — Joe Cullen, William O’Connor — and I had no boxers on all day. I was like I’d love to win this today with no boxers on.”