Rob Cross surges into World Grand Prix quarterfinals for first time ever

Rob Cross has finally made some joy for himself at the World Grand Prix. The former world champion, who has never really managed to convince in this tournament, is into the quarter-finals for the first time in his career with a convincing 3-1 victory over German Martin Schindler.

In the first set, Cross faced hardly any opposition from Schindler. The Brit won the first three legs, thrown in 16, 16 and 14 darts, giving the German only one chance at the bull. 'The Wall' threw an average of only 82.53 in this opening set and clearly had to step up a gear to have any chance of a result at all.

Schindler started considerably stronger in the second set. He won the first leg in 15 darts and profited in the second leg from a missed 122 finish by Cross, which also went to the German. In the third leg, Cross missed six darts to open, which enabled Schindler to convincingly win the set 0-3. 'The Wall' continued his strong play in the third set, while Cross seemed to sink deeper and deeper. Schindler won the first leg easily with a 16-darter and, thanks to four missed doubles by Cross in the second leg, gained a comfortable 0-2 lead.

Cross recovered however and levelled the score with a 17-darter and a 15-darter. In the decisive fifth leg, "Voltage" was allowed to start and opened strongly with a 113 score, to which Schindler immediately replied with 100. In the end, Cross completed his comeback in the set via double 8 to take another 2-1 lead in sets.

Schindler seemed upset after this mental blow, while Cross stoically kept on throwing. The former world champion opened the fourth set convincingly with a 105 finish and took a 1-0 lead. In the following leg, both players struggled with the doubles, but in the end it was the man from Pembury who managed to hit the double first. This put victory within reach for Cross.

The German managed to win another leg via a 72-finish, but then needed as many as seven arrows to open. Cross on the other hand started strong and was able to work towards a double. With double 8 the Brit finally secured the victory, thus reaching the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix for the first time in his career. In that match, he will face Ryan Joyce.