SMITH GOES THROUGH!! It was a hard-fought match but Michael Smith finally gets over the line against Rob Cross as he secures a 10-8 victory to reach the Quarter-Finals. #GSOD | L16 📺 bit.ly/GSOD22Live
Michael Smith edges Rob Cross in tight contest to reach Grand Slam of Darts Quarter-Finals for the 4th straight year
PDCWednesday, 16 November 2022 at 21:13
Michael Smith is in to the Quarter-Finals of this years Darts">Grand Slam of Darts after a 10-8 victory over a battling Rob Cross in Wolverhampton.
Despite having just 5 career wins vs Rob Cross, it was last year's beaten Semi-Finalist Michael Smith who cleaned up 72 for a break of throw in the opening leg and despite Cross finally sparking into life with a 174 to leave D8, Smith would clean up 97 for a 2-0 lead. After Smith missed four darts at D16 in leg 5, Cross would wire D18 for a 116 finish allowing Bully Boy to return and secure a 4-1 lead at the first break.
A 66 finish in the first leg of the second session would give Cross a break back, keeping him in touch. As the old saying goes however, a break is only a break if you hold and Cross couldn't hold as Smith restored his 2-break advantage at 5-2. Voltage had definitely upped his game though, averaging 4 points higher than Smith despite finishing the second session 6-4 behind.
With Cross needing a break to have a chance, Michael Smith went into top gear on his own throw going 180, 147, 40 out to hold throw in 12 darts. With Cross looking certain to at least get a dart to pull back to within a leg, Voltage missed the big 19, helplessly looking on as Smith punished emphatically to stretch his lead to 8-5.
Refusing to give up, Cross would not go away and a brilliant 104 finish from the 2018 World Champ got it back to 7-8. Nailing his favourite D18 in the following leg, Cross was back on level terms for the first time since the start of the match. Summing up this see-saw encounter, Cross could only muster a score of 11 when trying to take out 156, leaving Smith to pin 82 in 2 darts and go to the hill, just one leg away from victory. A 77 finish on tops in the following leg would see Bully Boy finally finish off Cross and confirm his place in the Quarter-Finals for the 4th year running.
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- Oh, dear... how will we cope now?MrYnyslas197122-11-2024
- They really are going through an insipid spell - at present.MrYnyslas197122-11-2024
- Well done Mike – good to move on and look to the future. With his talent, and increasing confidence on stage, he'll be a force to be reckoned with in the month ahead.
UndartedWaters22-11-2024 - It's called talent and good on him.medinabello21-11-2024
- There are 30 Players Championship rounds to play first throughout the year and you have to be in the top 64 to get to the finals. This is probably the hardest Major to win as its the top 128 players at each event or the top ranked Challenge Tour players if any tour card holders drop out.Mysstree20-11-2024