Rob Cross (darts player)

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Rob Cross
Cross in 2017
Personal information
Full nameRobert Cross
Nickname"Voltage"
Born (1990-09-21) 21 September 1990 (age 33)
Pembury, Kent, England
Home townHastings, England
Darts information
Playing darts since2001
Darts21g Target Rob Cross
LateralityRight-handed
Walk-on music"Hot Hot Hot" by Arrow
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO2015
PDC2016–
(Tour Card: 2017–)
WDF2015
Current world ranking6 Steady (21 April 2024)[1]
WDF major events – best performances
World MastersLast 48: 2015
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'shipWinner (1): 2018
World MatchplayWinner (1): 2019
World Grand PrixLast 16: 2019, 2021
UK OpenRunner-up: 2019
Grand SlamRunner-up: 2023
European Ch'shipWinner (2): 2019, 2021
Premier LeagueRunner-up: 2019
PC FinalsRunner-up: 2022
MastersRunner-up: 2023
Champions LeagueGroup Stage: 2018, 2019
World Series FinalsRunner-up: 2020
Other tournament wins
PDC Challenge Tour 2016 (x3)

European Tour Events

European Darts Grand Prix 2023

Players Championships

Players Championship (BAR) 2017 (x2), 2021, 2022 (x2)
Players Championship (DUB) 2017
Players Championship (LEI) 2023
Players Championship (MK) 2017
Players Championship (WIG) 2018

World Series of Darts

Brisbane Darts Masters 2018
New South Wales Darts Masters 2023
New Zealand Darts Masters 2023
Other achievements
2016 Finishes first on PDC Challenge Tour Order of Merit

2017 Breaks into the top 32 on the PDC order of merit for the first time (debut year on circuit)

2018 Breaks into the top 4 in the PDC order of merit for the first time

2018 Becomes the first player to win the PDC world championship at first attempt (barring players who have played in the BDO world championship)
Cross during the 2017 German Darts Grand Prix

Robert Cross (born 21 September 1990) is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked No. 6 in the world. Nicknamed "Voltage", he became the 2018 PDC World Darts Champion following his victory over Phil Taylor. Cross won the World Championship on his debut, having turned professional just 11 months prior to the event.

BDO career[edit]

2015[edit]

In October 2015, Cross attempted to qualify for the 2016 BDO World Darts Championship, where he was knocked out in the last 64 by Tony Martin.[2] He also competed in the 2015 World Masters, losing to Darius Labanauskas in the last 48.[3]

PDC career[edit]

2016[edit]

Cross competed in the 2016 UK Open as an amateur Rileys qualifier; making it to the last 32 before falling to world number one Michael van Gerwen, who achieved a nine-dart finish in the process.[4][5] Following this, he competed in the PDC Challenge Tour, winning three of the 16 events and ultimately topping the Order of Merit, consequently earning a Tour Card for the 2017 PDC Pro Tour.[6][7]

2017[edit]

At the 2017 UK Open, Cross reached the fifth round before being knocked out by eventual winner Peter Wright.[8] The following week, he won his first PDC title by defeating Mervyn King 6–5 in the final of the third Players Championship.[9] His first year on the tour continued positively, winning the 12th event with a 6–5 victory over Ian White, who missed five darts for the title.[10] Cross then beat Peter Wright 6–2 in the 19th Players Championship in Dublin and quickly added his 4th Players Championship (PC21) with a 6–3 win against Adrian Lewis to move into the top 32 for the first time.

Cross reached the final of two events in the 2017 PDC European Tour, the German Darts Grand Prix and the European Darts Trophy, both times losing to Michael van Gerwen.[11][12] He reached his first premier event final in October at the 2017 European Championship, again losing to van Gerwen.[13]

2018[edit]

Cross made his World Championship debut in 2018 as the 20th seed, reaching the final against Phil Taylor following wins over Seigo Asada, Michael Smith (in which Cross survived two match darts), John Henderson, Dimitri Van den Bergh and Michael van Gerwen (in which Cross survived six match darts). In the final he defeated Taylor, who had previously announced that he would retire after the tournament,[14] 7–2 in sets.[15] He is the only player to have survived match darts in two rounds and then go on to win the World title.[16] Winning the World Championship meant that he finished at number 3 in the PDC Order of Merit and earned automatic qualification for the 2018 Premier League Darts.[17]

Cross was tipped by a few pundits to have an off year as they thought that the pressure of being world champion would get to him, despite this he made a good showing on his Premier League debut making it to the semi-finals. However, he only won one players championship title in comparison to 2017 where he won 4, he won players' championship 13 by defeating Peter Wright in the final and he won his first World Series event which was the Brisbane Darts Masters by defeating Michael Van Gerwen 10–6 in the final. He had made two previous World Series finals that year: Las Vegas and Shanghai.

2019[edit]

In defence of his world title at the 2019 World Championship, Cross lost 4–2 in the fourth round to Luke Humphries.

Cross made his 3rd major final and 6th televised final at the 2019 UK Open in Minehead. Cross was eventual runner-up at the tournament, as he lost heavily to Nathan Aspinall.

Cross made his second televised final of the year (4th major, 7th televised) at the 2019 Premier League Darts. After finishing 2nd in the league format, Cross went to the O2 in London for the Play-Offs. He took on James Wade in the semi-final and was successful in victory. He then took on World Number One, Michael van Gerwen in the final. He eventually lost the tournament by 11–6.

He won the World Matchplay against Michael Smith by beating him 18–13 in legs. Cross became only the fourth player to ever win the World Championship and World Matchplay (previously achieved by Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson). On his way to the final he beat Chris Dobey, Krzysztof Ratajski, Stephen Bunting and Daryl Gurney, (from 15–9 down in the semi-finals).

Cross reached his 4th World Series Final at the 2019 Brisbane Darts Masters. He lost to winner Damon Heta in a last leg decider 8–7.

On 27 October 2019, Cross won his 3rd major PDC title, the European Championship, beating Gerwyn Price 11–6 in the final in Göttingen, Germany.

2020[edit]

Cross had a poor showing in the 2020 World Championship, losing to Kim Huybrechts 3–0 in the second round.

At the World Series of Darts Finals he beat Michael Smith and James Wade en route to the final, before eventually succumbing to Gerwyn Price.

2021[edit]

Cross suffered another early exit at the 2021 World Championship, losing to Dirk van Duijvenbode 3–2 in the second round.

Cross won his 4th PDC major at the 2021 European Darts Championship beating Michael van Gerwen in the final 11–8.

2022[edit]

At the 2022 World Championship, Cross started his campaign with a 3–1 win against Raymond van Barneveld. In the next round he beat Daryl Gurney in a last set decider, before eventually succumbing 4–3 to Gary Anderson in the fourth round.

2023[edit]

At the 2023 World Championship Cross reached the fourth round, losing to Chris Dobey 4–2.

At the Grand Slam, Cross was the runner-up, losing the final to Luke Humphries 16–8.

2024[edit]

At the 2024 World Championship Cross whitewashed Thibault Tricole in his second round match 3–0, won against Jeffrey de Graaf 4–2 in the third round, whitewashed Jonny Clayton 4–0 in the fourth round and came back from 4 sets down to defeat Chris Dobey 5–4 to reach the semi-finals.[18] He lost his semi-final to Luke Littler 6–2.[19]

Personal life[edit]

Cross spent the majority of his early life living in Edenbridge, Kent. He was an electrician before turning professional. His nickname, "Voltage", comes from his former profession.[20]

World Championship results[edit]

PDC[edit]

Performance timeline[edit]

Tournament 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Ranked televised events
PDC World Championship DNP W 4R 2R 2R 4R 4R SF
UK Open 4R 5R QF F QF 5R 4R QF QF
World Matchplay DNP 2R 2R W 1R 2R 2R 1R
World Grand Prix DNP 1R 1R 2R 1R 2R 1R 1R
European Championship DNP F QF W 1R W 1R 2R
Grand Slam of Darts DNP QF 2R 2R 2R QF 2R F
Players Championship Finals DNP SF 1R 3R 2R 3R F 2R
Non-ranked televised events
Premier League Darts DNP SF F 9th 9th DNP
The Masters DNP QF 1R 1R 2R 2R F 2R
Champions League of Darts DNP DNQ RR RR NH
PDC World Cup of Darts DNQ QF 2R F DNQ QF
World Series of Darts Finals DNQ QF 2R 2R F DNP QF
Career statistics
Year-end ranking 173 20 2 2 4 10 6 6

PDC European Tour

Season 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
2017 GDC
DNQ 		GDM
DNQ 		GDO
QF 		EDG
QF 		GDT
QF 		EDM
DNQ 		ADO
2R 		EDO
QF 		DDM
3R 		GDG
F 		IDO
2R 		EDT
F
2018 EDO
3R 		GDG
QF 		GDO
SF 		ADO
QF 		EDG
3R 		DDM
WD 		GDT
QF 		DDO
3R 		EDM
2R 		GDC
QF 		DDC
DNP 		IDO
DNP 		EDT
QF
2019 EDO
F 		GDC
3R 		GDG
SF 		GDO
SF 		ADO
3R 		EDG
2R 		DDM
WD 		DDO
2R 		CDO
DNP 		ADC
DNP 		EDM
QF 		IDO
F 		GDT
3R
2020 BDC
3R 		GDC
3R 		EDG
QF 		IDO
2R
2021 HDT
3R 		GDT
2R
2022 IDO
1R 		GDC
F 		GDG
3R 		ADO
QF 		EDO
2R 		CDO
F 		EDG
F 		DDC
2R 		EDM
QF 		HDT
2R 		GDO
3R 		BDO
3R 		GDT
SF
2023 BSD
2R 		EDO
SF 		IDO
QF 		GDG
2R 		ADO
3R 		DDC
2R 		BDO
3R 		CDO
SF 		EDG
W 		EDM
3R 		GDO
2R 		HDT
2R 		GDC
QF
2024 BDO
F 		GDG
3R 		IDO
3R 		EDG
SF 		ADO
2R 		BSD
 DDC
 EDO
 GDC
 FDT
 HDT
 SDT
 CDO
Performance Table Legend
W Won the tournament F Finalist SF Semifinalist QF Quarterfinalist #R
RR
Prel. 		Lost in # round
Round-robin
Preliminary round 		DQ Disqualified
DNQ Did not qualify DNP Did not participate WD Withdrew NH Tournament not held NYF Not yet founded

Career finals[edit]

PDC major finals: 11 (4 titles, 7 runners-up)[edit]

Legend
World Championship (1–0)
World Matchplay (1–0)
Premier League (0–1)
UK Open (0–1)
European Championship (2–1)
Players Championship Finals (0–1)
The Masters (0–1)
World Series of Darts Finals (0–1)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[N 1] Ref.
Runner-up 1. 2017 European Championship Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 7–11 (l) [13]
Winner 1. 2018 World Darts Championship England Phil Taylor 7–2 (s) [21]
Runner-up 2. 2019 UK Open England Nathan Aspinall 5–11 (l) [22]
Runner-up 3. 2019 Premier League Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 5–11 (l) [23]
Winner 2. 2019 World Matchplay England Michael Smith 18–13 (l) [24]
Winner 3. 2019 European Championship Wales Gerwyn Price 11–6 (l) [25]
Runner-up 4. 2020 World Series of Darts Finals Wales Gerwyn Price 9–11 (l) [26]
Winner 4. 2021 European Championship Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 11–8 (l) [27]
Runner-up 5. 2022 Players Championship Finals Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 6–11 (l) [28]
Runner-up 6. 2023 The Masters England Chris Dobey 7–11 (l) [29]
Runner-up 7. 2023 Grand Slam of Darts England Luke Humphries 8–16 (l)

PDC World Series finals: 6 (3 title, 3 runners-up)[edit]

Legend
World Series of Darts (3–3)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[N 1]
Runner-up 1. 2018 US Darts Masters Scotland Gary Anderson 4–8 (l)
Runner-up 2. 2018 Shanghai Darts Masters England Michael Smith 2–8 (l)
Winner 1. 2018 Brisbane Darts Masters Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 11–6 (l)
Runner-up 3. 2019 Brisbane Darts Masters Australia Damon Heta 7–8 (l)
Winner 2. 2023 New Zealand Darts Masters England Nathan Aspinall 8–7 (l)
Winner 3. 2023 New South Wales Darts Masters Australia Damon Heta 8–1 (l)

PDC team finals: 1 (1 runner-up)[edit]

Outcome No. Year Championship Team Teammate Opponents in the final Score[N 1]
Runner-up 1. 2020 World Cup of Darts  England Michael Smith  Wales – Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton 0–3 (m)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets, (m) = score in matches.
  1. ^ "PDC Order of Merit". PDPA. 21 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  2. ^ "2015 BDO World Championship Qualifiers Results". DartsDatabase.
  3. ^ "2015 World Masters Results". DartsDatabase.
  4. ^ "UK Open amateurs Rob Cross and Barry Lynn make impression in Minehead". Sky Sports News.
  5. ^ "2016 Coral UK Open Fourth round". PDC. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  6. ^ "Cross and Searle Secure Tour Cards". PDC. 13 September 2016.
  7. ^ Kiernan, Matthew. "The 2016 UK Open Rileys Qualifiers – What Happened Next?". Rileys Sports Bars.
  8. ^ "2016 Coral UK Open Day Two". PDC. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  9. ^ "Players Championship Three Latest". PDC. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  10. ^ "Cross Edges White For Second Title". PDC. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  11. ^ "Imperious Van Gerwen's German Glory". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  12. ^ "Van Gerwen Seals 20th Euro Tour Title". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  13. ^ a b Allen, Dave. "Four-Some Van Gerwen's European Glory". PDC. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  14. ^ PA Sport (27 January 2017). "Darts legend Phil Taylor announces 2017 will be his last on PDC circuit". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  15. ^ "The trip that turned Rob Cross from pub player to world darts champion". Guardian. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  16. ^ "Rob Cross beats Phil Taylor 7-2 to win PDC World Darts Championship – as it happened". Guardian. 1 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  17. ^ "Rob Cross: 'After the world darts final it was like I'd hit rock-bottom'". Guardian. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  18. ^ Stafford, Ali (2 January 2024). "World Darts Championship: Luke Littler thrashes Brendan Dolan after Rob Cross makes history at Alexandra Palace". Sky Sports.
  19. ^ Smyth, Rob (2 January 2024). "Luke Littler reaches PDC world darts final; Humphries humiliates Williams – as it happened". The Guardian.
  20. ^ Prenderville, Paul (2 January 2018). "Rob Cross won the World Darts title but who is he and how has his spectacular year unfolded?". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  21. ^ "PDC World Darts 2018: Rob Cross beats Phil Taylor 7–2 to win title". BBC Sport. 1 January 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  22. ^ "Nathan Aspinall beats Rob Cross to win UK Open and first major title". Sky Sports. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  23. ^ "Van Gerwen Lands Fifth Premier League Crown". PDC.tv. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  24. ^ "Betfred World Matchplay Glory For Cross". PDC.tv. 28 July 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  25. ^ "Cross Leaves Europe Victorious". PDC.tv. 27 October 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  26. ^ Allen, Dave. "bwin World Series of Darts Finals glory for Price". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  27. ^ Phillips, Josh. "Cross denies Van Gerwen to end title drought at Cazoo European Championship". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  28. ^ Gorton, Josh. "Seventh heaven for Van Gerwen with Minehead masterclass". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  29. ^ Gorton, Josh. "Dobey defeats Cross to clinch first televised title at Cazoo Masters". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 29 January 2023.

External links[edit]

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