Ricky Evans, the darts player who once described gravy as the "devil", has vowed to drink a pint of the sauce if he qualifies for the World Championship. The 36-year-old, known as 'Rapid', is one of the biggest attractions at Ally Pally during the Christmas period, with his eye-catching darts and even more eye-catching outfits making him a firm crowd favourite.
However, Evans made clear his disgust for the adored sauce on stage at the World Championships last year. Now he has said he will celebrate by drinking a pint of gravy if he can make his eighth consecutive appearance at the tournament.
Qualification risk
Evans is at risk of failing to qualify for Ally Pally, with his No.52 spot in the world rankings outside of the top 40 needed to qualify, and his No.70 position in the ProTour Order of Merit also outside of the top 40 required for qualification.
One favourite of the crowd who will be back at the Palace is Kenya's David Munyua, who won the North African qualifier. Munyua made history last December by becoming the first Kenyan to ever qualify for the showpiece event, and shot to fame after beating Mike De Decker and repping the Daily Star on his sleeve.
Gravy vow
Munyua's qualification meant that Evans Njuguna missed out in the last leg shootout – to the despair of 'Rapid', as a fellow Evans failed to book their spot. However, Ricky is usually inspired by Njuguna's pain, as he replied to one darts account saying: "I'll drink a pint of it (gravy) if I somehow qualify."
It will certainly be something that Evans will wish he never said if he does make it to Ally Pally, following his rant at the sauce and Christmas last year. "Christmas is rubbish. It is," Evans declared while chatting with Sky Sports' Polly James on the stage. "Hands up if you like gravy? Eh. Hands up if you like meat and gravy? Hands up if you think gravy is the devil!?"
Anti-gravy stance
The crowd didn't take kindly to such provocative questions, and this theme continued into Evans' press conference where he stated: "I hate gravy. Everyone loves it don't they? I just hate it. The smell and everything."
"Give me cranberry sauce or ketchup will do. That's my opinion. My Christmas Day meal will be all the meat. The mash and the roast potatoes. Essentially all the meat and potatoes. I don't mind the old veg. Just not gravy."
At last year's Worlds, Evans said he would neck a pint of gravy if he beat James Wade to extend his tournament beyond Christmas, which the Kettering arrowsmith did, but he failed to follow through on his words.
