Alexandra Palace doesn’t merely host drama – it amplifies it. And on this breathless afternoon, the old place practically shook itself loose from its Victorian foundations as Ricky Evans produced a performance soaked in nerve, velocity and festive chaos to sensationally edge seventh seed James Wade in a contest that refused to die quietly.
Closing the afternoon session, the gravy-hating Kettering speedster burst onto the stage like Christmas given human form – all colour, chaos and kinetic energy. Across from him stood one of the most decorated operators the game has ever known.
For Wade, the World Championship remains the one jewel that stubbornly refuses to sit in his glittering PDC crown.The opening set appeared like it would go with throw – Wade steady, methodical, poised to strike first. Instead, Evans snatched the deciding leg and rewrote the opening chapter.
The Machine responded as only Wade does: immaculate on the doubles, three from three, crowned by a bullseye at the end of a sumptuous Big Fish checkout. Level terms. No panic.
Evans, however, refused to blink. He pinched another deciding leg to retake the lead, only to then spectacularly lose his way in set four, allowing the multiple major champion to drag the contest to 2–2. One set shootout. Sudden death.
Momentum swung again. Ricky rediscovered his mojo, surged into a 2–0 lead and suddenly found himself throwing for a famous, career-defining victory. But James Wade is not built to fold.
With Evans spurning six match darts, The 42-year old leftie clung on, levelled up, and when both men traded breaks to reach 3–3, the sense of inevitability crept in. Wade held for 4–3 and you could almost hear the familiar closing music. Almost.Because Evans does not read scripts. He tears them up.
The Northamptonshire man summoned every ounce of fight, leapfrogged Wade once more, and again stood one leg from victory. Then came the moment. Wade sat on 138. Evans stepped in and obliterated a magnificent 99 checkout at such ferocious speed the cameraman barely caught it. Game. Set. Madness.
Ricky Evans will be back at Ally Pally after Christmas. And he has earned every moment of it.
Earlier in the afternoon, Madars Razma set the tone with an authoritative display to dismiss Darren Beveridge, the man who had earlier in the tournament toppled Dimitri Van den Bergh.
Razmatazz claimed the opening two sets before the Scot halved the deficit, but there would be no fairy-tale encore for Ice Cold this time. Razma shut the door with conviction. A 97.10 average and a ruthless 58.82% on the doubles underlined a simple truth – the Latvian is not here as a tourist. He means business.
Germany’s Gabriel Clemens also marched into round three, shredding the odds with a straight-sets dismissal of the ever-improving Wessel Nijman. The young Dutchman outscored Clemens, but when it came to the outer ring, his hands trembled. Clemens did not.
The former semi-finalist waited patiently, then pounced. Could this be the event where the former World Championship semi-finalist rediscovers that form which took him to the final four? He, together with the entire dart loving section of Germany will certainly hope so.
And finally, the African dream reached its curtain call. David Munyua bowed out in straight sets to Kevin Doets, but he leaves Ally Pally as a hero. His magnificent comeback win over reigning Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker will live long in the memory.
This, however, always felt like Hawkeye’s match. Munyua entertained, thrilled the crowd, and rattled in five maximums, but opportunities on the doubles were scarce – just nine across the entire match, two converted.
Doets was not at his fluent best, yet still far too strong when it mattered. He now awaits the winner of Nathan Aspinall versus Leonard Gates.Another afternoon written in theatre, tension and tungsten. Another reminder that at Alexandra Palace, reputations tremble – and bravery is always rewarded.
MONDAY 22nd DECEMBER – Afternoon Session
Darren Beveridge 1-3 Madars Razma
Wessel Nijman 0-3 Gabriel Clemens
Kevin Doets 3-0 David Munyua
James Wade 2-3 Ricky Evans
—–Ends—–
Images: PDC
