Ricky Evans has spoken out after many expressed concerns with his behaviour at Alexandra Palace in his third round defeat to Charlie Manby in the World Darts Championship.
Evans lost 4-2 to the impressive debutant in the afternoon session on Monday, with 20-year-old Manby setting up a round of 16 clash with world youth champion Gian van Veen and the player with the highest average, on Tuesday.
The Kettering native had been a huge hit in the tournament, with many tipping him to be in the lineup for the Premier League in 2026.
However he lost his head in a big way against Manby, with his frustrations increasing when things went against him in the game.
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As the contest continued, Evans began to lose composure and even had a falling dart prior to the match dart from Manby.
He was accused of effectively giving up by Sky Sports pundit and former World Championship semi-finalist Wayne Mardle, who branded him "unprofessional".
“But what has to be said is that Ricky Evans at the end, it was just unprofessional," Mardle said.
"You don’t give up like that and he gave up. He won’t sleep well after reacting the way he did. You just can’t do it."
Evans has suffered elimination at the third round stage for the third year in a row and after emotions got the better of him, he took to Facebook to respond to criticism.
'Rapid' acknowledged he wasn't at his best and gave praise to his opponent while calling out some of the abuse he received online.
"Today wasn’t my day, I gave everything I could," the 35-year-old wrote.
"Keep going Charlie, smash it up young man!!!! Thank you to the not so nice people for the death threats, hate & fat jokes…..I was poo and I’m still better than you. I’ve got the best parents & my girlfriend is an absolute worldie can’t wait to spend my winnings x".
Despite his exit, Evans is still in line to pocket £60,000 thanks to the PDC increasing the World Championship prize pool to £5 million.
Manby, meanwhile, could be £100,000 richer if he sees off Dutchman Van Veen and progresses to the quarter finals.
The bricklayer, who qualified through the 2025 Development Tour Order of Merit and is hoping to move to darts full-time in the near future, faces Van Veen in the afternoon session on Tuesday.
The winner could come up against world No.2 and former world champion Luke Humphries in the next round if he gets past Kevin Doets
Topics: Darts, World Darts Championship
Josh Lawless