- Evans cut an emotional figure following his victory in the first round in Germany
- The 44-year-old announced the death of his younger sister at the start of March
- He has now shared some awful messages he received about his sister
Ricky Evans has revealed that he has been the target of some shocking abuse on social media.
There were emotional scenes on Friday night when Evans beat Dutch legend Raymond van Barneveld in the European Darts Trophy.
Evans, who is ranked 44th in the world, was playing just weeks after his younger sister passed away and broke down in tears on stage after the scalp.
Announcing the sudden news at the start of March, he posted a statement that read: ‘My beautiful little sister Elisha… I love you so much. I’ll always be your best friend’, accompanied by photos of the two together.
Evans was unable to repeat his heroics the following night, losing 6-1 to fifth seed Dave Chisnall.
And he was met with some vile abuse online after the defeat in Germany.
Ricky Evans has revealed that he has been the target of some shocking abuse on social media
Evans posted a screenshot of the vile messages that the troll sent him on Instagram
Evans posted a screenshot of the Instagram messages on his story, writing ‘you sick horrible human being. I know I’m fat but the rest wow!!!’
In the messages, the troll labels him a fat s*** before saying he is ‘useless as his dead sister’ and would be ‘seeing her in hell’ as he ‘eats so much.’
There was criticism aimed at Van Barneveld following the match in the first round on Friday night.
Van Barneveld, rather than consoling his opponent, appeared to walk back to his desk, leaving Evans to turn and shake the officials’ hands before his opponent’s. The 2007 world champion then gave a quick handshake before leaving the stage.
That drew criticism from a number of fans, who suggested ‘Barney’ should have been more comforting, but Evans himself took to social media to defend the 57-year-old.
‘I’m seeing Raymond get a lot of unnecessary hate on social media,’ Evans wrote on Facebook. ‘And I just wanted to address this.
‘Raymond was the first person to come up to me in Leicester at the recent Pro Tour events to offer his sympathy for my recent bad news, and I love and respect him massively.
‘We have spoken this morning, and he wished me well for the rest of the tournament. There is no bad blood or issue at all between us, we both just wanted to win last night.’
It came after Evans’ sister passed away earlier this month, with the World No 44 paying tribute to her in the fall out
Evans is a fan favourite, known for his exuberant outfits during the World Championship
One fan had accused van Barneveld of showing a ‘lack of respect’, while another branded the incident ‘very poor’.
After claiming the win, Evans, whose nickname is ‘Rapid’ because of how fast he throws his darts, said: ‘I didn’t care how I won – it’s not just beating Raymond, it means a lot to me.
‘I’ve just won a game of darts after everything I’ve been through, so I’m the happiest man in Germany right now. I’m still in this tournament but this is huge for me.’
