Rob Cross
English darts player (born 1990)
Robert Cross (born 21 September 1990) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he reached a peak ranking of world number two in 2018 and 2019. Nicknamed "Voltage", Cross won the PDC World Darts Championship in 2018 after turning professional less than a year beforehand. He has won three other PDC major titles: the 2019 World Matchplay and the European Championship in 2019 and 2021. Cross has won a total of 22 PDC titles.
Before turning professional in 2017, Cross reached the last 32 of the 2016 UK Open, losing there to Michael van Gerwen. He won four titles on the PDC Challenge Tour in 2016, which earned him his PDC Tour Card. Cross won his first four PDC ranking titles in his first year on tour, followed by his maiden World Championship win in 2018, where he defeated Phil Taylor 7-2 in the final. Outside of his four major victories, Cross has won five World Series of Darts titles, two European Tour titles, and 11 Players Championships. He has also represented England at the PDC World Cup of Darts four times, reaching the final of the 2020 edition alongside teammate Michael Smith.
01BDO career
2015
In October 2015, Cross attempted to qualify for the 2016 BDO World Darts Championship, where he was knocked out in the last 64 by Tony Martin. He also competed in the 2015 World Masters, losing to Darius Labanauskas in the last 48.
02PDC career
2016
Cross competed in the 2016 UK Open as an amateur Rileys qualifier; making it to the last 32 before falling to world number one Michael van Gerwen, who achieved a nine-dart finish in the process. Following this, he competed in the PDC Challenge Tour, winning three of the 16 events and ultimately topping the Order of Merit, consequently earning a Tour Card for the 2017 PDC Pro Tour.
2017
At the 2017 UK Open, Cross reached the fifth round before being knocked out by the eventual winner Peter Wright. The following week, he won his first PDC title by defeating Mervyn King 6-5 in the final of the third Players Championship. His first year on the tour continued positively, winning the 12th event with a 6-5 victory over Ian White, who missed five darts for the title. Cross then beat Peter Wright 6-2 in the 19th Players Championship in Dublin and quickly added his 4th Players Championship (PC21) with a 6-3 win against Adrian Lewis to move into the top 32 for the first time.
Cross reached the final of two events in the 2017 PDC European Tour, the German Darts Grand Prix and the European Darts Trophy, both times losing to Michael van Gerwen. He reached his first premier event final in October at the 2017 European Championship, again losing to van Gerwen.
2018
Cross made his PDC World Darts Championship debut as the 20th seed. He reached the final at the event, beating Phil Taylor 7-2 on New Year's Day 2018, following wins over Seigo Asada, Michael Smith (in which Cross survived two match darts), John Henderson, Dimitri Van den Bergh and Michael van Gerwen (in which Cross survived six match darts). In the final he defeated Taylor, who had previously announced that he would retire after the tournament, 7-2 in sets. He is the only player to have survived match darts in two rounds and then go on to win the World title. Winning the World Championship meant that he finished at number 3 in the PDC Order of Merit and earned automatic qualification for the 2018 Premier League Darts.
Cross was tipped by a few pundits to have an off year as they thought that the pressure of being world champion would get to him, despite this he made a good showing on his Premier League debut making it to the semi-finals. However, he only won one players' championship title in comparison to 2017 where he won 4, he won players' championship 13 by defeating Peter Wright in the final and he won his first World Series event which was the Brisbane Darts Masters by defeating Michael Van Gerwen 10-6 in the final. He had made two previous World Series finals that year: Las Vegas and Shanghai.
2019
In defence of his world title at the 2019 World Championship, Cross lost to Luke Humphries 4-2 in the fourth round.
Cross made his 3rd major final and 6th televised final at the 2019 UK Open in Minehead. Cross was the eventual runner-up at the tournament, as he lost to Nathan Aspinall 11-5.
Cross made his second televised final of the year (4th major, 7th televised) at the 2019 Premier League Darts. After finishing 2nd in the league format, Cross went to the O2 in London for the Play-Offs. He took on James Wade in the semi-final and was successful in victory. He then took on World No. 1, Michael van Gerwen in the final, losing 11-6.
He won the World Matchplay, defeating Michael Smith 18-13 in legs in the final. Cross became only the fourth player to ever win the World Championship and World Matchplay (previously achieved by Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson). On his way to the final he beat Chris Dobey 10-3, Krzysztof Ratajski 11-5, Stephen Bunting 16-14 and Daryl Gurney 17-15, (from 15-9 down in the semi-finals).
Cross reached his 4th World Series final at the 2019 Brisbane Darts Masters. He lost to Damon Heta in a last leg decider 8-7.
On 27 October, Cross won his 3rd PDC major title, the 2019 European Championship, beating Gerwyn Price 11-6 in the final.
2020
Cross was eliminated in the second round of the 2020 World Championship, winning only two legs in a 3-0 loss to Kim Huybrechts.
At the World Series of Darts Finals, Cross beat Michael Smith and James Wade en route to the final, before eventually succumbing to Gerwyn Price. Cross and Michael Smith, representing England, reached the final of the World Cup of Darts, where they were defeated 3-0 by Wales (Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton).
2021
Cross suffered another early exit at the 2021 World Championship, losing to Dirk van Duijvenbode 3-2 in the second round.
Cross won his fourth PDC major title at the 2021 European Championship, beating Michael van Gerwen in the final 11-8 to win the tournament for a second time.
2022
At the 2022 World Championship, Cross started his campaign with a 3-1 win against Raymond van Barneveld. In the next round, he beat Daryl Gurney in a deciding set, finishing the match with a 170 checkout. He was defeated 4-3 by Gary Anderson in the fourth round.
Cross was unsuccessful in his defence of the European Championship, losing to James Wade 6-5 in the first round. Cross reached the final of the Players Championship Finals but lost 11-6 to Michael van Gerwen.
2023
At the 2023 World Championship Cross reached the fourth round, losing to Chris Dobey 4-2. He was the runner-up at the Masters where he again lost to Dobey.
After seven previous losses in PDC European Tour finals, Cross won his first European Tour title at the 2023 European Darts Grand Prix, defeating Luke Humphries 8-6 in the final. He also won back-to-back titles on the 2023 World Series of Darts, winning the New Zealand Darts Masters and the New South Wales Darts Masters.
At the Grand Slam, Cross was the runner-up, losing the final to Luke Humphries 16-8.
2024
At the 2024 World Championship, Cross whitewashed Thibault Tricole in his second-round match 3-0, won against Jeffrey de Graaf 4-2 in the third round, whitewashed Jonny Clayton 4-0 in the fourth round and came back from four sets down to defeat Chris Dobey 5-4 to reach the semi-finals. He lost his semi-final to Luke Littler 6-2.
In May, Cross defeated Luke Humphries 8-6 in the final of the Baltic Sea Darts Open to win his second European Tour title. He also won the US Darts Masters, winning a last-leg decider to beat Gerwyn Price 8-7.
2025
Cross suffered an early exit at the 2025 World Championship, losing 3-1 to Scott Williams in the second round.
Cross won his fifth World Series title at the 2025 Dutch Darts Masters, defeating Stephen Bunting 8-5 in the final. It was his first World Series title in Europe. He was victorious in the first Pro Tour event of the year, Players Championship 1, with a 7-3 win over Andrew Gilding in the semi-finals before beating Joe Cullen 8-3 in the final. Cross achieved his first televised nine-dart finish on night five of the 2025 Premier League in his 6-5 semi-final loss to Nathan Aspinall. He finished the league stage of the Premier League in seventh place on 14 points.
2026
At the 2026 World Championship, Cross reached the fourth round before losing 4-2 to defending champion Luke Littler. Cross was also omitted from the 2026 Premier League lineup, which saw him miss out on a place in the tournament for the first time since 2023. He reached the quarter-final of the UK Open, losing in a deciding leg to James Wade. Cross won his first title of the year at Players Championship 22, where he defeated Maik Kuivenhoven 8-5 in the final. He then reached the final of the Slovak Darts Open, losing 8-3 to Wessel Nijman.
03Personal life
Cross has four children. He spent the majority of his early life living in Edenbridge, Kent. He was an electrician before turning professional. His nickname, "Voltage", comes from his former profession.
In June 2025, Cross was disqualified from being a company director for five years for failing to pay more than £450,000 in taxes. The Insolvency Service found that he had withdrawn over £300,000 from his company that should have gone to creditors.
In a 2025 interview, Cross revealed he has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
04World Championship results
PDC
- 2018: Winner (beat Phil Taylor 7-2)
- 2019: Fourth round (lost to Luke Humphries 2-4)
- 2020: Second round (lost to Kim Huybrechts 0-3)
- 2021: Second round (lost to Dirk van Duijvenbode 2-3)
- 2022: Fourth round (lost to Gary Anderson 3-4)
- 2023: Fourth round (lost to Chris Dobey 2-4)
- 2024: Semi-finals (lost to Luke Littler 2-6)
- 2025: Second round (lost to Scott Williams 1-3)
- 2026: Fourth round (lost to Luke Littler 2-4)
05Career finals
PDC major finals: 11 (4 titles)
| Legend |
|---|
| World Championship (1-0) |
| World Matchplay (1-0) |
| Grand Slam (0-1) |
| Premier League (0-1) |
| UK Open (0-1) |
| Masters (0-1) |
| European Championship (2-1) |
| Players Championship Finals (0-1) |
| World Series of Darts Finals (0-1) |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 2017 | European Championship | Michael van Gerwen | 7-11 (l) | |
| Winner | 1. | 2018 | World Championship | Phil Taylor | 7-2 (s) | |
| Runner-up | 2. | 2019 | UK Open | Nathan Aspinall | 5-11 (l) | |
| Runner-up | 3. | 2019 | Premier League | Michael van Gerwen | 5-11 (l) | |
| Winner | 2. | 2019 | World Matchplay | Michael Smith | 18-13 (l) | |
| Winner | 3. | 2019 | European Championship | Gerwyn Price | 11-6 (l) | |
| Runner-up | 4. | 2020 | World Series of Darts Finals | Gerwyn Price | 9-11 (l) | |
| Winner | 4. | 2021 | European Championship (2) | Michael van Gerwen | 11-8 (l) | |
| Runner-up | 5. | 2022 | Players Championship Finals | Michael van Gerwen | 6-11 (l) | |
| Runner-up | 6. | 2023 | Masters | Chris Dobey | 7-11 (l) | |
| Runner-up | 7. | 2023 | Grand Slam | Luke Humphries | 8-16 (l) |
PDC World Series finals: 11 (5 titles)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 2018 | US Darts Masters | Gary Anderson | 4-8 (l) |
| Runner-up | 2. | 2018 | Shanghai Darts Masters | Michael Smith | 2-8 (l) |
| Winner | 1. | 2018 | Brisbane Darts Masters | Michael van Gerwen | 11-6 (l) |
| Runner-up | 3. | 2019 | Brisbane Darts Masters | Damon Heta | 7-8 (l) |
| Winner | 2. | 2023 | New Zealand Darts Masters | Nathan Aspinall | 8-7 (l) |
| Winner | 3. | 2023 | New South Wales Darts Masters | Damon Heta | 8-1 (l) |
| Winner | 4. | 2024 | US Darts Masters | Gerwyn Price | 8-7 (l) |
| Runner-up | 4. | 2024 | Nordic Darts Masters | Gerwyn Price | 5-8 (l) |
| Runner-up | 5. | 2024 | Poland Darts Masters | Luke Littler | 3-8 (l) |
| Winner | 5. | 2025 | Dutch Darts Masters | Stephen Bunting | 8-5 (l) |
| Runner-up | 6. | 2025 | Nordic Darts Masters (2) | Stephen Bunting | 4-8 (l) |
PDC team finals: 1
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Team | Teammate | Opponents in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 2020 | World Cup of Darts | England | Michael Smith | Wales , Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton | 0-3 (m) |
06Performance timeline
| Tournament | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDC Ranked televised events | ||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | DNP | W | 4R | 2R | 2R | 4R | 4R | SF | 2R | 4R | ||||||
| World Masters | DNP | QF | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | F | 2R | 1R | 2R | ||||||
| UK Open | 4R | 5R | QF | F | QF | 5R | 4R | QF | QF | 6R | QF | |||||
| World Matchplay | DNP | 2R | 2R | W | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | QF | 1R | 2R | |||||
| World Grand Prix | DNP | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | QF | 2R | ||||||
| European Championship | DNP | F | QF | W | 1R | W | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | ||||||
| Grand Slam | DNP | QF | 2R | 2R | 2R | QF | 2R | F | QF | DNQ | ||||||
| Players Championship Finals | DNP | SF | 1R | 3R | 2R | 3R | F | 2R | 1R | 1R | ||||||
| PDC Non-ranked televised events | ||||||||||||||||
| Premier League | DNP | SF | F | 9th | 9th | DNP | 6th | 7th | DNP | |||||||
| Champions League | DNP | DNQ | RR | RR | Not held | |||||||||||
| World Cup | DNQ | QF | 2R | F | DNQ | QF | DNQ | |||||||||
| World Series Finals | DNQ | QF | 2R | 2R | F | DNP | QF | QF | 2R | 1R | ||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||
| Season-end ranking | 173 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 20 | ||||||
PDC European Tour
| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | DNQ | GDO QF |
EDG QF |
GDT QF |
EDM DNQ |
ADO 2R |
EDO QF |
DDM 3R |
GDG F |
IDO 2R |
EDT F | ||||
| 2018 | EDO 3R |
GDG QF |
GDO SF |
ADO QF |
EDG 3R |
DDM WD |
GDT QF |
DDO 3R |
EDM 2R |
GDC QF |
DDC DNP |
IDO DNP |
EDT QF | ||
| 2019 | EDO F |
GDC 3R |
GDG SF |
GDO SF |
ADO 3R |
EDG 2R |
DDM WD |
DDO 2R |
CDO DNP |
ADC DNP |
EDM QF |
IDO F |
GDT 3R | ||
| 2020 | BDC 3R |
GDC 3R |
EDG QF |
IDO 2R | |||||||||||
| 2021 | HDT 3R |
GDT 2R | |||||||||||||
| 2022 | IDO 1R |
GDC F |
GDG 3R |
ADO QF |
EDO 2R |
CDO F |
EDG F |
DDC 2R |
EDM QF |
HDT 2R |
GDO 3R |
BDO 3R |
GDT SF | ||
| 2023 | BSD 2R |
EDO SF |
IDO QF |
GDG 2R |
ADO 3R |
DDC 2R |
BDO 3R |
CDO SF |
EDG W |
EDM 3R |
GDO 2R |
HDT 2R |
GDC QF | ||
| 2024 | BDO F |
GDG 3R |
IDO 3R |
EDG SF |
ADO 2R |
BSD W |
DDC DNP |
EDO 2R |
GDC DNP |
FDT DNP |
HDT 3R |
SDT 3R |
CDO WD | ||
| 2025 | BDO 2R |
EDT 3R |
IDO WD |
GDG 3R |
ADO DNP |
EDG 3R |
DDC WD |
EDO WD |
BSD 2R |
FDT 2R |
CDO 3R |
HDT 3R |
SDT QF |
GDC 2R | |
| 2026 | PDO DNQ |
EDT 2R |
BDO DNQ |
GDG DNQ |
EDG 1R |
ADO SF |
IDO SF |
BSD 1R |
SDO F |
EDO 1R |
HDT 3R |
CDO 1R |
FDT 3R |
SDT |
DDC |
PDC World Series of Darts
| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | GER QF |
USA F |
SHA F |
AUC QF |
MEL QF |
BRI W | |
| 2019 | USA QF |
GER QF |
BRI F |
MEL SF |
NZE SF | ||
| 2023 | BAH SF |
NOR QF |
USA SF |
POL 1R |
NSW W |
NZE W | |
| 2024 | BAH QF |
DUT 1R |
USA W |
NOR F |
POL F |
AUS QF |
NZE QF |
| 2025 | BAH 1R |
DUT W |
NOR F |
USA 1R |
POL SF |
AUS DNP |
NZE DNP |
PDC Players Championships
| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | BAR 1R |
BAR 3R |
BAR W |
BAR 3R |
MIL 4R |
MIL 3R |
BAR 1R |
BAR 3R |
WIG 3R |
WIG 3R |
MIL SF |
MIL W |
WIG SF |
WIG SF |
BAR 3R |
BAR 4R |
BAR 2R |
BAR 2R |
DUB W |
DUB 4R |
BAR W |
BAR 3R | ||||||||||||
| 2018 | BAR QF |
BAR 2R |
BAR 4R |
BAR 2R |
MIL 1R |
MIL QF |
BAR 3R |
BAR DNP |
WIG 3R |
WIG 3R |
MIL DNP |
WIG W |
WIG F |
BAR QF |
BAR 3R |
BAR QF |
BAR 2R |
DUB 4R |
DUB SF |
BAR 1R |
BAR 2R | |||||||||||||
| 2019 | WIG 2R |
WIG 4R |
WIG 3R |
WIG SF |
BAR 4R |
BAR 3R |
WIG 4R |
WIG DNP |
BAR 2R |
Did not participate | BAR 2R |
BAR QF |
HIL DNP |
BAR 4R |
BAR 1R |
BAR 1R |
BAR 4R |
DUB 4R |
DUB 2R |
BAR DNP | ||||||||||||||
| 2020 | BAR 4R |
BAR 1R |
WIG 1R |
WIG 2R |
WIG QF |
WIG 1R |
BAR 3R |
BAR 3R |
MIL 4R |
MIL 2R |
MIL 1R |
MIL F |
MIL 1R |
NIE 2R |
NIE 2R |
NIE 3R |
NIE 3R |
NIE 3R |
COV 3R |
COV 3R |
COV 1R |
COV 1R |
COV DNP | |||||||||||
| 2021 | BOL QF |
BOL 1R |
BOL 2R |
BOL 2R |
MIL 3R |
MIL 1R |
MIL 2R |
MIL 3R |
NIE 2R |
NIE 2R |
NIE QF |
NIE 1R |
MIL 1R |
MIL 4R |
MIL SF |
MIL QF |
COV 1R |
COV 2R |
COV 3R |
COV 2R |
BAR QF |
BAR 2R |
BAR 2R |
BAR QF |
BAR 4R |
BAR W |
BAR SF |
BAR SF |
BAR 2R |
BAR 3R | ||||
| 2022 | BAR 2R |
BAR QF |
WIG 1R |
WIG QF |
BAR QF |
BAR 3R |
NIE SF |
NIE 4R |
BAR 4R |
BAR 3R |
BAR SF |
BAR 1R |
BAR QF |
WIG 1R |
WIG 4R |
NIE 2R |
NIE QF |
BAR 1R |
BAR 1R |
BAR 1R |
BAR 3R |
BAR 2R |
BAR 4R |
BAR W |
BAR 1R |
BAR 1R |
BAR W |
BAR 3R |
BAR QF |
BAR 3R | ||||
| 2023 | BAR 3R |
BAR 3R |
BAR 3R |
BAR 3R |
BAR 1R |
BAR 2R |
HIL 1R |
HIL 1R |
WIG 1R |
WIG 2R |
LEI W |
LEI 4R |
HIL 1R |
HIL 2R |
LEI 3R |
LEI 2R |
HIL 3R |
HIL QF |
BAR 3R |
BAR QF |
BAR 2R |
BAR DNP |
BAR QF |
BAR 3R |
BAR 3R |
BAR 2R |
BAR SF |
BAR 4R | ||||||
| 2024 | WIG 2R |
WIG 2R |
LEI 1R |
LEI 1R |
HIL DNP |
LEI 2R |
LEI 4R |
Did not participate | MIL 2R |
MIL 1R |
MIL 2R |
MIL DNP |
WIG 4R |
WIG 1R |
LEI 4R |
LEI 4R |
WIG 4R |
WIG 2R |
WIG 3R |
WIG 4R |
WIG 2R |
LEI 3R |
LEI 1R | |||||||||||
| 2025 | WIG W |
WIG 1R |
ROS QF |
ROS 2R |
LEI 1R |
LEI 4R |
HIL DNP |
LEI 2R |
LEI 2R |
Did not participate | LEI SF |
LEI 2R |
HIL DNP |
MIL QF |
MIL 4R |
HIL DNP |
LEI 1R |
LEI 2R |
LEI DNP |
WIG 2R |
WIG 4R |
WIG 1R |
WIG 1R | |||||||||||
| 2026 | HIL 3R |
HIL 3R |
WIG 3R |
WIG 2R |
LEI 1R |
LEI 3R |
LEI 2R |
LEI 1R |
WIG 2R |
WIG 1R |
MIL QF |
MIL 1R |
HIL 3R |
HIL 4R |
LEI 1R |
LEI 3R |
LEI 1R |
LEI 1R |
MIL SF |
MIL 3R |
WIG 2R |
WIG W |
LEI 3R |
LEI 4R |
HIL DNP |
LEI 4R |
LEI DNP |
ROS |
ROS |
ROS |
ROS |
LEI |
LEI | |
| Performance Table Legend | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Won the tournament | F | Finalist | SF | Semifinalist | QF | Quarterfinalist | #R RR Prel. |
Lost in # round Round-robin Preliminary round |
DQ | Disqualified |
| DNQ | Did not qualify | DNP | Did not participate | WD | Withdrew | NH | Tournament not held | NYF | Not yet founded | ||
07Nine-dart finishes
| Date | Opponent | Tournament | Method | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 March 2025 | Nathan Aspinall | 2025 Premier League Darts | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T16, D18 |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Rob Cross”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- 2025-04-03 Premier League Darts Berlin 2025 by Sandro Halank–100.jpg by Sandro Halank, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Rob Cross 5-6 Dave Chisnall - Rob Cross - 2019251194716 2019-09-08 PDC European Darts Matchplay - 0314 - B70I7551.jpg by Sven Mandel, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 2025-04-03 Premier League Darts Berlin 2025 by Sandro Halank–090.jpg by Sandro Halank, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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