"It speaks volumes about where my game is" - Cross delighted to take first TV title in two years
PDCSaturday, 05 August 2023 at 17:30
Rob Cross managed to take the title at the New Zealand Darts Masters on Saturday after a thrilling comeback. 'Voltage' outlasted Nathan Aspinall 8-7 in a decisive leg.
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With this, Cross ended a two-year period in which he failed to capture a televised title. His last major title dated to the European Championship in 2021.
Cross had to make up a 5-2 deficit, including two breaks, in the final against Aspinall. Through a 12-darter, 13-darter and two 14-darters, the Englishman came back to 6-6. Moments later it was 7-7, in which Cross struck via an 88 finish for the final victory.
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“To win this title is absolutely amazing,” Cross, who also won the 2018 Brisbane Darts Masters, told the PDC after the event. “At the moment, every chance you give Nathan he normally takes, but he let me off a little bit later in the game, after I missed some opportunities early on," the former world champion reflected on the final.
It pleased the world number eight to see the way he took the title in New Zealand. “The standard is so high, so when you can win [a title] when you’ve not been at your best, it speaks volumes about where my game is."
Cross sees his final victory at the New Zealand Darts Masters as a fond memory. “It’s all memories. When I pack up eventually, I will look back and see what I’ve won and remember the great moments and people along the way.”
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Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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- I appreciate that littler is a fantastic player,but the top 3 articles are about him. Before he'd thrown a dart in the tournament. Level it out a bit, Taylor and van gerwen soon got disliked as the media could only see them,and nobody else seemed to matterrick6725-08-2026
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- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
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