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| Photo from sportinglife.com |
Rob Cross ended his wait for a second major title after defeating Michael Smith in the World Matchplay final at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.
The 2018 world champion is still only in his third year as a professional, but already got his name on the two biggest titles in the sport, but it was not without incident against Bully Boy.
The St Helens man made a terrible start with both scoring and finishing - and will surely conclude that the damage was predominantly self-inflicted - as Cross stormed into 9-0 lead.
After his incredible comeback from 14-7 down the night before to win against Daryl Gurney, Voltage was on a run of 17 successive legs won on the Winter Gardens stage, threatening to break the record for the biggest ever victory in a World Matchplay, held by Phil Taylor who thrashed Terry Jenkins 16-4 in 2009.
But that all changed as Smith threatened to make Cross the victim of a huge comeback, bringing it back to 11-4 at the third interval.
The 2018 Premier League, 2018 World Series and 2019 World Championship runner-up, who is still seeking his first major title at the age of 28, managed to get his average above 90, helped by a 147 checkout.
He managed to reduce the deficit to three legs at 14-11, but Cross knocked Smith back with a 110 checkout with his opponent waiting on 16.
Smith closed the gap to two legs at 15-13, with the Blackpool crowd roaring missed doubles from Cross with six in one leg, as Smith missed five but pinned tops for a 20-darter.
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| Photo from BBC Sport |
He's also the second quickest to achieve it out of the elite group
Having turned pro at the start of the 2017, Cross completes the double in his third season while Taylor (1994-95) did it in two, van Gerwen (2007-2015) in eight and Anderson (2009-2018) in 10.
His is only the ninth different name to be on the Phil Taylor trophy since the tournament's inception in 1994, though that isn't surprising given the dominance of a certain 16-time winner after whom the trophy is named.
MATCH STATS
Smith - Cross
Averages
95.91 - 95.16
180s
8 - 5
Doubles
13/44 (29.55%) - 18/41 (43.9%)
Ton+ Checkouts
147 - 115, 100
Draw
(1) Michael van Gerwen (NED) 10-6
(8) James Wade (ENG) 13-12
(9) Mensur Suljovic (AUT) 10-1
(5) Michael Smith (ENG) 10-7
(4) Gary Anderson (SCO) 10-6
(2) Rob Cross (ENG) 10-3
(10) Ian White (ENG) 10-0
(6) Peter Wright (SCO) 10-5
(11) Simon Whitlock (AUS) 10-8
(3) Daryl Gurney (NIR) 10-7
=
(8) James Wade (ENG) 13-11
(5) Michael Smith (ENG) 12-10
(2) Rob Cross (ENG) 11-5
Stephen Bunting (ENG) 14-12
(6) Peter Wright (SCO) 11-2
(3) Daryl Gurney (NIR) 11-9
=
Glen Durrant (ENG) 16-7
(5) Michael Smith (ENG) 16-11
(2) Rob Cross (ENG) 16-14
=
(2) Rob Cross (ENG) 17-15
=
Day One Results and Report
Day Two Results and Report
Day Three Results and Report
Day Four Results and Report
Day Five Results and Report
Day Six Results and Report
Day Seven Results and Report
Semi-Finals Results and Report
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