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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- I don't actually see the problem,he was insulting only to himself,as a reaction to his victory. I don't think anyone else was affected,so what's the issue?rick6704-11-2024
- Covid or Vaccine victim?Mysstree03-11-2024
- I've always thought the top 24 should be made up of major winners and runners up then Euro tour followed by PC tour winners - if you don't have 24 after that then have some qualifiers.Thomas Moffatt03-11-2024
- If he gets even a ticking off there is something drastically wrong. Cut this woke crap, he was celebrating in the heat of the moment, not like he abused Bunting or punched someone, he was elated.Mysstree02-11-2024
- Not a Dobey fan at all but it’s bizarre that the winner of 3 Players Championship rounds does not qualify ahead of any runner up. The GSOD seems to be going the same way as footballs Champions League with a lot of non winners. The old football European Cup was a tournament of winners. GSOD should be for winners only and by tournament prestige and if it’s ranked. Not enough players or multiple event winners then add winners of the big invitationals such as the Premier League and WSOD.Mysstree02-11-2024