Rob Cross (darts player)

Rob Cross
Cross in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Robert Cross
Nickname	"Voltage"
Born	(1990-09-21) 21 September 1990 (age 33) Pembury, Kent, England
Home town	Hastings, England
Darts information
Playing darts since	2001
Darts	21g Target Rob Cross
Laterality	Right-handed
Walk-on music	"Hot Hot Hot" by Arrow
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO	2015
PDC	2016– (Tour Card: 2017–)
WDF	2015
Current world ranking	6 (21 April 2024) [1]
WDF major events – best performances
World Masters	Last 48: 2015
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'ship	Winner (1): 2018
World Matchplay	Winner (1): 2019
World Grand Prix	Last 16: 2019, 2021
UK Open	Runner-up: 2019
Grand Slam	Runner-up: 2023
European Ch'ship	Winner (2): 2019, 2021
Premier League	Runner-up: 2019
PC Finals	Runner-up: 2022
Masters	Runner-up: 2023
Champions League	Group Stage: 2018, 2019
World Series Finals	Runner-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

2015

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

2016

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PDC

• 2018: Winner (beat Phil Taylor 7–2)
• 2019: Fourth round (lost to Luke Humphries 2–4)
• 2020: Second round (lost to Kim Huybrechts 0–3)
• 2021: Second round (lost to Dirk van Duijvenbode 2–3)
• 2022: Fourth round (lost to Gary Anderson 3–4)
• 2023: Fourth round (lost to Chris Dobey 2–4)
• 2024: Semi-finals (lost to Luke Littler 2–6)

Performance timeline

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	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

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

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	Michael van Gerwen	7–11 (l)	[13]
Winner	1.	2018	World Darts Championship	Phil Taylor	7–2 (s)	[21]
Runner-up	2.	2019	UK Open	Nathan Aspinall	5–11 (l)	[22]
Runner-up	3.	2019	Premier League	Michael van Gerwen	5–11 (l)	[23]
Winner	2.	2019	World Matchplay	Michael Smith	18–13 (l)	[24]
Winner	3.	2019	European Championship	Gerwyn Price	11–6 (l)	[25]
Runner-up	4.	2020	World Series of Darts Finals	Gerwyn Price	9–11 (l)	[26]
Winner	4.	2021	European Championship	Michael van Gerwen	11–8 (l)	[27]
Runner-up	5.	2022	Players Championship Finals	Michael van Gerwen	6–11 (l)	[28]
Runner-up	6.	2023	The Masters	Chris Dobey	7–11 (l)	[29]
Runner-up	7.	2023	Grand Slam of Darts	Luke Humphries	8–16 (l)

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

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	Gary Anderson	4–8 (l)
Runner-up	2.	2018	Shanghai Darts Masters	Michael Smith	2–8 (l)
Winner	1.	2018	Brisbane Darts Masters	Michael van Gerwen	11–6 (l)
Runner-up	3.	2019	Brisbane Darts Masters	Damon Heta	7–8 (l)
Winner	2.	2023	New Zealand Darts Masters	Nathan Aspinall	8–7 (l)
Winner	3.	2023	New South Wales Darts Masters	Damon Heta	8–1 (l)

PDC team finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

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

1. (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. 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

• Rob Cross player profile at Darts Orakel
• Official website