Sport Darts World Championship
Rob Cross pulls off one of the greatest comebacks in World Cup history
As of: 9:04 p.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes
Cult caller Bray leaves the big stage
After the World Championships in January, darts is probably losing its most famous voice, Russ Bray. As “The Voice” announced on Thursday, the World Cup final will be his last. The 66-year-old will remain with the PDC in a different role.
The new sports year has its first big loser. Chris Dobey was almost unassailable with 4-0 sets in the quarter-finals of the Darts World Cup and had a match dart early on. But Rob Cross conjured up a battle of nerves and ensured one of the greatest comebacks in World Cup history.
The Darts World Cup ended 2023 with one of the greatest dramas and 2024 opened with a bang. Rob Cross was already 0-4 sets down in the first of the four quarter-finals on January 1st and had only won three of the 15 legs. His opponent Chris Dobey was superior to him in every respect – and yet the 2018 world champion celebrated in the end.
“It’s incredible. I’m very proud of myself, and I hope my children are too,” said the father of four after a long battle of nerves that only ended 5-3 in overtime of the ninth set. A bang that completed one of the greatest comebacks in World Cup history and ensured a seamless transition to the tournament. In the last game of the year, Luke Humphries and Joe Cullen fought one of the most dramatic duels in history. Humphries finally won the round of 16 in the sudden-death leg of extra time; the last set alone had lasted 19 minutes.
At the beginning of the new year, Cross seemed to have no chance against the up-and-coming Dobey for a long time. The northern Englishman seemed to succeed in everything, and at the latest when he checked 161 points to make it 2-0 in the fourth set – Cross had waited at 32 points – the match seemed decided. It was Dobey’s seventh leg in a row. 15 darts later he followed up with the eighth to make it 4-0 in sets. What else was supposed to happen? Especially since the result up to the round of 16 would have been synonymous with victory. From the quarter-finals onwards, however, five winning sets are required at the World Cup. And that now became a big problem.
Suddenly doubts: Chris Dobey already looked like the sure winner
Quelle: Getty Images/Tom Dulat
Cross got himself on the scoreboard, improved and became more and more confident on the double courts. In the sixth round he even took Dobey’s throw-off set 3:1 and shortened his sets to 2:4. Was it exciting again? In addition to reaching the semi-finals and the chance of the world title, the duel also involved a lot of prize money. While the sums had increased by £7,500 in the first rounds, £10,000 and by £15,000 in the quarter-finals, £50,000 was now at stake. It may even have been a final for a place in the 2024 Premier League.
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Dobey with too many errors on the doubles
It was about a lot – and for Cross from the fifth set onwards it was about everything. His opponent therefore had hardly any chances. In the seventh round he missed three break opportunities to make it 1-0 and also missed a match dart in the decider on the bullseye. Cross checked to make it 3:4. “Voltage” continued to take off and actually managed to equalize the set.
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And the trend seemed to continue in the decisive round. The world number eight completed her throw-off leg, taking the lead for the first time in the match and also checked 130 points over the bullseye to make it 2-0. “That 130 was fantastic, absolutely exhilarating,” said Cross later, who surprisingly couldn’t sprint across the finish line. Dobey once again showed strong nerves and checked 360 points in seven darts against losing the match.
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He now needed another leg win to save himself for the time being, although he narrowly missed a highlight of 152 points on double 16, but then checked on double 16 to make it 2-2. Nerve-wracking – and still high-class. Both players were neck and neck at the start of overtime with an average of 100.3 points.
Dobey then received a break dart on the bullseye, but, like his match dart in set seven, missed the 124. Cross took the lead 3-2 before Dobey equalized again, but also needed eight darts to check. Cross then had ten for the entire leg to make it 4:3 – world class. Dobey missed a dart on tops to make it 4:4, Cross got the chance with 70 remaining and hit: triple-18, double-8.
Actually lost: Chris Dobey missed the semi-finals despite a 4-0 lead
Quelle: Getty Images/Tom Dulat
The last legs had once again made the decisive difference in this match. Cross hit 57 percent of his attempts on doubles, while Dobey, who hit 17 180s, seven more than his opponent, only hit 33 percent. “I always just thought: It’s just “best of five”, only “best of five”, Cross later revealed, only having the following sentence in his head during his fantastic comeback: “I really love this format.” On He can prove that again on Tuesday evening. Then the 33-year-old meets Luke Littler. The 16-year-old also beat Northern Irishman Brendan Dolan on his debut.
Darts World Cup, quarter-finals on January 1st
Chris Dobey (ENG/17) – Rob Cross (ENG/8) 4:5 nV (3:1; 3:2; 3:0; 3:0; 1:3; 1:3; 2:3; 1: 3; 3:5)
Luke Littler (ENG) – Brendan Dolan (NIR/28) 5:1 (3:2; 3:0; 3:2; 3:1; 1:3; 3:0)
from 8.15 p.m.:
Michael van Gerwen (NED/2) – Scott Williams (ENG)
Luke Humphries (ENG/3) – Dave Chisnall (ENG/11)
Darts World Cup, semi-finals on January 2nd
Rob Cross (ENG/8) – Luke Littler (ENG)
Michael van Gerwen (NED/2)/Scott Williams (ENG) – Luke Humphries (ENG/3)/Dave Chisnall (ENG/11)
