Defending champion Cross still sees Van Gerwen as man to beat for European Championship: "He has performed great so he is probably the favourite"

Rob Cross is the defending champion at the European Championship this week. 'Voltage' won the tournament for a second time last year, having also been the best earlier in 2019.

During the 2021 edition, no one came close to Cross. With big wins over Keane Barry (6-3), Brendan Dolan (10-4), José de Sousa (10-5) and Joe Cullen (11-3), he reached the final. Then Michael van Gerwen was also defeated 11-8.

Cross gives himself a good chance of winning the European Darts Championship for a third time this year, he stated in an outlook. ''I feel good. I was happy with how I played recently in Gibraltar when I reached the semifinals and last Saturday I also won a Players Championship event. I will also practice a lot before going to Germany. This tournament is very important for me personally because I have won it twice in the past and I would like to win it for a third time."

''I think if I can perform at my best, I have a good chance. However, the field of competitors is so good that you can't look too far ahead. In the first round, I play against James Wade, the world number five. So I can't afford to look further ahead. I will just prepare for this match, hopefully win and then prepare for the second round.''

Cross may not face his biggest competitors until the final. According to ''Voltage,'' Van Gerwen is the top favorite for the title in Dortmund.

''Michael van Gerwen has performed great and won the Premier League, the World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix, so he is probably the favourite. However, Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright have also shown fantastic things. They are all in the other half of the draw, but in my half are Luke Humphries, who has won four European Tour events, UK Open champion Danny Noppert and Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith, who have been in TV finals this year.''

The tournament begins for Cross with a duel against Wade, who still managed to win the 2018 European Darts Championship.

''I think we're pretty evenly matched in the head-to-head. I always like playing against him, because with him you know what to expect. He's a great finisher and punishes your mistakes, so I have to be sharp.''