"That shows how rubbish I am because I’ve never won one!" - 520 and out: Ricky Evans misses a Players Championship event for the first time in his career

Ricky Evans saw an end to a remarkable ProTour streak on Wednesday. ‘Rapid Ricky’ was absent from Players Championship 16 in Leicester, missing a Players Championship event for the first time in his career since claiming his PDC Tour Card in 2013.

The Englishman had stood at an astonishing 520 consecutive Players Championship appearances at the oche. That impressive run ended due to exhibition commitments in Belgium.

Although Evans is still waiting for his first major PDC title, he has long been a constant on tour. The rapid crowd favorite has reached six ProTour finals in his career and also made the semi-finals of the UK Open.

Evans himself admitted he always finds it particularly difficult to skip a tournament. The Englishman fears each time that he might miss the very event where he would finally land his first title. “If I was in their situation I would pull out but I can’t. I need to get to Ally Pally. I’m in with a chance to get a late run to the World Grand Prix," said Evans to Oche.

According to Evans, qualification for the World Matchplay is now out of reach, which means he needs every ranking event. "The Matchplay is a bit too far. I need to play events."

His withdrawal also ended a statistic that Evans views with a hefty dose of self-deprecation. “I’ve never missed one event in the 13 years I’ve been a Tour-Card holder so that shows how rubbish I am because I’ve never won one! I believe if I miss an event that could be the day I have won one. That is my stupidness for you.”

Albeit in Evans case, it does show perhaps the stark contrast as a player in his ranking position and also for instance Alan Soutar who played immediately after a gruelling London Marathon can't afford to skip anything unless it is for in his case a fairly lucrative exhibition in Belgium. While the top pros can skip these events quite easily and refuse to play in the vast majority.

For Evans not being in that position either through as he put it 'stupidity' or his game in general shows the gap between the top names and players like him that have to take it to the extreme when missing tournaments.