Cross nets fifth straight Premier League win

Rob Cross shakes hands with opponent Gerwyn Price at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow. Picture courtesy Steve Welsh/PDC

The St Leonards-based thrower won seven straight legs to thrash Gerwyn Price 7-1 in front of around 10,000 fans at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow tonight (Thursday).

Cross struggled to begin with, losing a scrappy opening leg on his own throw despite hitting a 180 and Price had darts to go 2-0 up before Cross hit double 18 to break back.

The world champion then went through the gears, producing a superb 143 outshot for a 12-darter in a third leg which contained his second maximum.

Rob Cross celebrates during his 7-1 victory over Gerwyn Price. Picture courtesy Steve Welsh/PDC

Cross started the next leg with another 180 and ended it by checking out 81 in two darts for an 11-darter. He followed that by finishing 67 in two darts for a 14-darter and a 4-1 lead.

Two more 14-darters, the second of them beginning with a 177, made it 6-1 and Cross finished the job by following his fourth 180 with a 66 finish in leg eight.

Cross, nicknamed Voltage, ended up with an average of 102.57 and hit seven doubles from 10 attempts.

“It took me a couple of legs to settle, but when I started to play, I played well and it’s a good win for me,” said Cross.

“I’m feeling comfortable and I’ve got a good routine now. You can’t win every week, but you want to perform and I’m in a good place at the moment.

“I’m playing well and I’ll look forward to the next game now. I’ve turned it around after the first couple of weeks and I’m really happy with my game. I’m clinical at the end of legs and that’s the biggest thing for me.”

The world number three remains third in the table, but is now level on points with second-placed Michael Smith after night seven of the 16-week roadshow event televised live on Sky Sports.

Cross will aim to continue his terrific winning run when he faces home favourite Daryl Gurney in Belfast next Thursday night.

Unibet Premier League standings (all played seven matches): 1st Michael van Gerwen 12pts (+24 leg difference), 2nd Michael Smith 10 (+13), 3rd Rob Cross 10 (+9), 4th Raymond van Barneveld 8 (+3), 5th Gary Anderson 7 (+1), 6th Simon Whitlock 7 (+1), 7th Daryl Gurney 6 (-4), 8th Mensur Suljovic 4 (-8), 9th Peter Wright 4 (-19), 10th Gerwyn Price 2 (-20).

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