Rob Cross wins Players Championship 12 in Milton Keynes
Monday 22 May 2017 18:31, UK
Rob Cross continued his spectacular emergence on the PDC Tour winning his second Players Championship title of the season on Sunday.
Having lost to Peter Wright in the final of Saturday's Players Championship 11 event, Cross returned in Milton Keynes on Sunday to beat Ian White 6-5 in Players Championship 12.
Former electrician Cross has been a sensation this year since joining the professional circuit, following up his brilliant PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour triumph in 2016 by claiming his maiden ProTour win in March and reaching three European Tour quarter-finals in as many events.
A tight final against White saw Cross break in the opening leg before White hit back to level and then move 2-1 up, and the pair traded legs as the Stoke thrower took out 121 and 122 as he edged 5-4 up.
However, White missed the bull to claim victory in leg 10, before seeing a further four match darts go begging in the decider as Cross stepped in on double 18 to secure the £10,000 first prize.
Cross had defeated Max Hopp and Tony Newell in his opening two games before seeing off world No 6 James Wade 6-2 to reach the last 16.
He then overcame No 2 seed Mensur Suljovic 6-4 and dropped one leg in each of his quarter-final and semi-final wins, as he swept aside Darren Webster and Kim Huybrechts.
"It's going well, I'm enjoying it and I'm over the moon," said Cross. "It was a nervy final and I got lucky. I felt a lot of fatigue after the semi-final, it was like I emptied the tank on that one game.
"I believe I can get better - I've seen better things on the practice board too and you're trying to creep out a little bit more every week and keep progressing, and that's what I'm doing.
"I think I've exceeded the expectations I personally had. My goals were to try and make every TV major and keep going from there really, so now I'll have new goals.
"Before today it would have been finishing in the top 32 at the end of the year, trying to get up there. When you're putting yourself in these positions, you're learning all the time.
"It's hard to keep calm under the pressure, but the more I put myself here I believe I'm going to get better, so I want to keep experiencing it.
"It comes a little bit naturally but you've just got to bear with it really, it's not easy and the players are all fantastic."
White's run on the day saw him reach his first final of 2017, as he defeated Stephen Burton, Ross Twell, Ronny Huybrechts, Richard North, world number three Wright and James Wilson in claiming £5,000 in prize money.
You can see all the action from The World Cup of Darts, live on Sky Sports. The arrows run from 1-4 June.
Who will win the World Cup of Darts? Let us know your thoughts by tweeting @SkySportsDarts or by using the comments box below - sign in with Facebook. Follow us on Twitter & use #LoveTheDarts
