Rob Cross’ incredible debut year on the PDC circuit continued as he destroyed Peter Wright 6-2 to clinch the Players Championship 19 title at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin.
Cross has been electric throughout this year, and secured his third PDC title of 2017 in style.
After breaking in the opening leg, Wright opened up a two leg advantage. This merely ignited something in Cross, as he began to play some of his finest darts to quickly find a foothold in the final.
Three 12-dart legs in succession from the 27-year-old with finishes of 81, 87 and 81 put him into the lead and he never looked back.
A 13-darter then followed to break once more and give control of the final at 4-2, before finding D18 in the eighth leg to seal a dominant victory.
It has been a remarkable year for the former Electrician from Hastings, having won Players Championship’s three and 12 already, as well as reaching the final of the HappyBet German Darts Grand Prix at the beginning of September.
Cross started the day with a convincing 6-1 victory over five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld.
This was followed by a 6-2 victory over Dave Pallett, and a 6-3 win against Justin Pipe.
His toughest test came in the Last 16 stage, as he survived missed match darts to squeeze past seven-time TV winner James Wade 6-5 in a deciding leg.
A thumping 6-0 victory over Vincent van der Voort – who beat Michael van Gerwen earlier in the day – was to follow, before producing some superb darts as he averaged over 109 and landed a 167 checkout to beat Mensur Suljovic 6-1 to reach the final.
“At the start of the day I was under achieving and got a bit lucky against James Wade. After that, I woke up and started to play like I can,” said Cross.
“I have a lot to learn when it comes to the TV tournaments, but now I am getting to the point when I am playing my best game on the game board now, not just in the practice room. I think I can get better”
Speaking following his victory, Cross admitted that this unprecedented debut year has come as a shock even to himself.
“At the beginning of the year, all I aimed to do was make the top 64 in the world,” he said.
“Nobody could predict, not even me, the way this year has gone. I am now going from strength to strength and I know I can get better.
“If I keep doing that, then I know I can be in for a shout of winning anything”
Wright has also been in fine form this year, and come into this tournament fresh from winning the HappyBet International Darts Open in Riesa, Germany, last weekend.
He started the day a little more slowly than Cross, and registered wins over Joe Murnan, Brendan Dolan, Chris Quantock and Gerwyn Price all by a 6-4 scoreline.
A thumping 6-1 win followed against Andrew Gilding in the Quarter-Finals, followed by a 6-3 victory over surprise package Antonio Alcinas in the final four.
The Spaniard’s great run started with a 6-4 win over Benito van de Pas. He then saw off the likes of Jeffrey de Zwaan, Darren Webster, Richard North and Steve Lennon to post his best finish on the ProTour.
