Rob Cross hails Michael van Gerwen as "the best player I've ever played" despite Luke Littler's recent brilliance

Rob Cross returns to Premier League Darts action later this evening in Berlin. 'Voltage' faces off against world number one Luke Humphries in the quarter-finals on Night 9, knowing a win could go a long way in improving his hopes of reaching the playoffs by the time the season ends.

So far, Cross has had a solid if unspectacular Premier League campaign, with the former world champion still waiting for a first nightly win. "It'd be nice if I could win two games on a night!" Cross laughs in conversation with Online Darts. "I've done well I think, for just winning one game. You know, I’ve been steady. I've had some great performances, but I've had some sort of down performances and all, where I've not really produced. But it's a long time when you're trying to play over this many weeks and it's that consistency that's key."

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In his sixth career participation in the Premier League Darts, Cross has twice managed to make the top 4, even reaching the final in 2019. "It's all about getting to finals night for me," he explains on this year's edition. "To win a night would be great, don't get me wrong. I'd like to win one I’m not going to lie, but at the same time, it's just to get to the O2, to get to the final and to get the chance of picking the trophy."

So far this Premier League Darts season, much of the headlines have been about the two Lukes, Luke Littler and Luke Humphries. The pair sit one and two in the league table and have shared six of the eight nightly wins between them. With those two having locked up two playoff spots though, the other two remain up for grabs.

"I'd say Nathan Aspinall is within touching distance and then it's Gerwyn Price, myself and Michael at the minute. It’s never over until it's over obviously, but Chris Dobey and Stephen Bunting, yeah they seem to be struggling a little bit," analyses Cross. "If I can win one in the next couple of weeks, I'll probably win three or four."

On Littler, who has once again lived up to the hype this Premier League Darts season, Cross insists the 18-year-old isn't yet the best player he's ever faced of with. "It's tough to evaluate. I had one game against Phil Taylor, which you can't really take that you know. If I would have played him numerous times, I would have probably got a feel of what he was like and the domination what he had at one point," Cross assesses. "But Michael, he was different gravy. So in my personal opinion, at the minute he's the best player I've ever played. He always found something when he needed it. He had that extra gear change when he was in trouble."

As mentioned, Cross faces off against Luke Humphries in the quarter-finals tonight in Berlin. Time will tell if this is finally the night he gets a first weekly win this campaign.

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