‘I’ll keep the inflation card now’ – Darts star teases fans in incredible post-win interview.

Robert Owen has kept his PDC Tour card alive by beating Ricky Evans before screaming with delight.

Recognized as the sport’s fastest tungsten thrower globally, Evans took on Owen in a whirlwind clash to open Sunday evening’s session at the PDC’s flagship event.

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Evans has reached the round of 32 in only his best game of the tournament and will be looking to put an end to this slump against their Welsh opponents.

As always, the showman lit up the North London venue with an epic transformation, dancing on stage to Madonna’s ‘Like a Prayer’.

But it was Owen who was most pleased as he took a thrilling 4-2 win and turned the score around to claim victory.

It meant the Welshman kept his PDC Tour card and will be on the Tour next year.

He is now ranked 59th and is unlikely to be caught once he reaches the next stage.

“I’m holding the inflation card now,” he roared through the crowd.

Owen then taunted the predominantly English crowd and saluted his Welsh fans, to huge boos.

He then added: The last game was the biggest game of my life, but this game really was.

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“He’s a great player, can I say now? ‘Now, I’ve got my tour card!’

All the while I was saying “I’m here” in Welsh.

“That’s what I’m here for and I hope to do the same in the next round, but I don’t care.”

I can do much better than this. I’ve averaged 106-105 and 115-116 and I know I have a lot more in the closet than that.

“I thought I played well, but I know I can do better.”

Owen looked very emotional after the match, as he had been through a real rollercoaster.

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And in a follow-up interview with talkSPORT.com, ‘Stack Attack’ revealed the win meant a lot to him after his grandfather passed away six days ago.

He added: There was a lot of pressure on that one game.

“Emotionally it was very difficult. We went home and unfortunately on December 23rd my grandfather passed away.

“He was like a father to me, that’s why my children were here and my wife was here.

I used that to my advantage to give me the strength to do it and get over the line.

Evans jumped out to an early lead and got off to a blistering start in the first set.

Owen hit straight back as he returned to 1-1 with a much better display to leave things in tatters.

‘Rapid’ did not allow his opponent to wrestle the opponent in total as he took 92 in the final game to take a 2-1 lead.

The Englishman looked to be taking the initiative as he had two darts to win the fourth set, but it was agonizingly close.

Owen took advantage of it and scored a double ten and the game was all tied.

And it was the Welshman who took the deciding leg at the end of the fifth set to go 3-2 up and the writing was on the wall for Evans.

Evans fell apart and his average dropped as his frustration grew and his darts became more unruly.

And unfortunately for the fast bowler, he was beaten by a rejuvenated Owen who was quite emotional late on when his victory was announced.

This cemented his place on the Tour, a vital necessity for any darts player wishing to compete all year round, and effectively means that Karl Sedlaček has now lost his Tour card.

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