While Rob Cross will always walk into Alexandra Palace with the pressure of being a former champion on his shoulders, that’s not what he’s spending his time focusing on at Worlds.
Cross shocked the hurling world back in 2018 when he walked away as champion on his Palace debut after defeating Phil Taylor 7-2 just 11 months after turning pro.
Since then he has cemented himself as one of the best players in the world and goes into the 2024/25 tournament as the world No.4 on the PDC Medal of Merit and in form.
With such an important win on his CV in a tournament he always does well in, Cross goes into Worlds every year as one of the top names to talk about.
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Debutant Rob Cross sensationally lifted the world title in 2018 by defeating Phil Taylor in his last ever match.
But instead of seeing his previous victory as an added layer of pressure, Cross prefers to see it as motivation that if he’s won it all once before, there’s no reason he can’t do it again.
“I think there’s a big difference in winning anyway, just in general, it’s always nice to know you can win something,” Cross said.
“Because when you didn’t do it, when you didn’t do it or didn’t win and you say to yourself: well, I hope I can win.
“But at the same time it’s disappointing when you don’t win it again.
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Rob Cross scores an impressive 164, 160 and 110 in his Grand Slam of Darts win over Richie Edhaus.
“So I’ve had a drought of about six or seven years now and I’ve got to turn that around at some point.
“I think the Worlds was the hardest for me because whoever has been world champion never wants to get it back, and I get that, but I understand that.
“But do I find any defensive stuff or anything like that, it doesn’t even cross my mind. I’m not much of a thinker to be honest.
“It’s always better to win titles than to have them, but at the same time you don’t have to think about two years ago with money or a year ago or whatever, going in there to defend and look like that. , it’s just extra pressure.
“I’ll go in there and probably look at it as a positive and think to myself, well, I’ve won it once so I can win it again instead of a negative.
“Pressure is man-made, and that’s never a good thing, is it?”
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Rob Cross hits a massive 156 against Ryan Joyce in the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix of Darts.
Although Kroos does not like to put too much pressure on himself, there is always the motivation that he would one day like to become a two-time world champion.
“I think the overall picture that I always draw for myself and go, I want to win every tournament that I go to, because obviously that’s just a mindset, but at the same time I’m just game by game, literally, like they are coming and they seem to come thick and fast,” he added.
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Rob Cross knocked out Luke Littler with an 88 on the bullseye in the first round of the World Grand Prix of Darts.
“Just game by game and literally just look at the tip of my nose, just don’t look any further than that.
“Touch wood, I never play a bad game there, I really enjoy it, I love it, it’s just one of those places where I walk with all the memories and stuff I’ve had there, I’ll always love it : place even if I wasn’t playing.
“If you’re going to play your best darts, and if you can play your best darts, that’s where you want to do it.
“I want to win it all, I want to be a two-time world champion. At the same time, it will be just one game, you know, it’s one of the biggest tournaments in the world, and everyone is raising their game “.
Cross over that little game. “He’s great for the game”
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What extraordinary darts! Rob Cross nearly hits nine, but Luke Littler takes it in the fourth set.
Back in the 2023/24 tournament, Cross provided darts fans with some epic moments and matches, with ‘Voltage’ reaching the semi-finals on his debut against a Luke Littler of several ages.
Littler averaged 106.05 with 16 maximums and ton-plus finishes of 149, 142 and 132 en route to a 6-2 victory and Cross, now able to see the bigger picture, sees how “amazing” the run was for the game. .
“Honestly, look, we’re all born trying to be winners and stuff like that, but it’s not fun when you lose,” Cross said.
“But look at the bigger picture, you know, the guy and what Luke has accomplished since then is nothing short of amazing.
“I’m not a jealous person, far from darts or looking in. I guess I’m a competitor and I want to win when I’m out there, I think he plays great too.
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Rob Cross came back from 4-0 down to Chris Dobey to complete the ‘flying miracle’.
While Cross will be the favorite again this year, there have been plenty of shocks and upsets in darts in 2024 and the world No. 4 isn’t ruling out more happening at Ally Pally.
“I just think the way darts are now, if you took it back ten years ago, you could probably pick three people who could win a tournament, or four if you’re being generous,” Cross added.
“Now all of a sudden, you look at it and you’ve probably got, I don’t know, you’ve got exactly 24 out of 32, and you can probably write off the other eight.
“So I think it’s good for the viewer, I think for the people who are watching and watching at home.”
When will the World Darts Championship be held?
The tournament kicks off at Alexandra Palace on Sunday 15 December with three first and one second round matches on the opening night.
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Speaking on Love The Darts, Michael Bridges and Polly James discuss which players are still to be feared when playing against them.
There will be live darts on each of the next eight days, including seven afternoons, with the usual three-day break from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day, before returning for round three and a double session on December 27.
Rounds three and four will run until December 30 before taking a break on New Year’s Eve, with the quarter-finals played over two sessions on New Year’s Day before the semi-finals on January 2 and the final on Friday January 3.
You can find the full schedule for this year’s tournament here here.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship Watch every match exclusively live from December 15 to January 3 on Sky Sports’ special Darts channel. Stream darts and better sports with NOW!.
