‘I’ve overwhelmed Luke Littler and Phil Taylor – however my hardest opponent is neither’
Rob Cross won the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship less than a year after turning professional, but the former world champion has named his toughest-ever opponent
Rob Cross has revealed who he believes is the toughest opponent he’s ever faced in the darts world – having played against the likes of Phil Taylor, Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen.
Back in 2018, Cross left everyone stunned when he won the world championship title, not even a full year after entering the professional league. That match also happened to be Taylor’s final appearance in darts from his glittering career – and it didn’t end the way everyone expected it to, as Cross took home the trophy.
While Van Gerwen has snagged a few victories over Cross, and Littler boasts a pretty solid record against the Englishman, the 34-year-old didn’t hesitate when it came to pointing out the top dog.
In an interview with Online Darts, Cross said: “It’s tough to evaluate. If I’d’ve said the toughest player I’ve ever played, I had one game against Phil [Taylor] and you can’t really take that. If I’d have played him numerous times, I’d have got a feel of what he was like and the domination he had at one point.”
Reflecting on his early years in the game, Cross handed the title of hardest opponent to Van Gerwen – who has spoiled his fun many times on the oche. He said: “Michael, he was different gravy, I suppose, when I first burst on the scene.
“He probably stopped me from winning three or four titles that year. In my personal opinion, at the minute, he’s the best player I’ve ever played.”
Cross added: “At the minute, it’s Michael for me. He always found something when he needed it. He had that extra gear change when he was in trouble. I’ve not seen many players like that, including myself.”
Before Cross bagged the world champion title, Van Gerwen boasted a 7-1 record over him. Yet, current world champ Littler has arguably topped that, winning a whopping 12 out of 14 face-offs against the 34-year-old, and Cross isn’t blind to the fact that he needs to up his game against the teenager.
The darts star did admit that Littler could knock Van Gerwen off the top spot on his list soon, as he added: “At the same time, the young man (Littler), if he holds it down for another three or four years and keeps sort of improving then maybe it’ll be him.
“I don’t feel like I’ve played well. I think I’ve played rubbish against him and played better stuff elsewhere. That needs to change and maybe even other people have done the same.”
After bowing out of some recent events, it isn’t clear on whether Cross will show up for Night 10 of Premier League Darts in Manchester this Thursday. However, before taking some time away, fifth-placed Cross was confident about his play-off prospects.
“I will go to the O2, even if I don’t win a Premier League night,” Cross said. “That’s bolshy, isn’t it? But at the same time, I will win a Premier League night.
“It’ll be the first semi-final where I break, and at the minute it looks impossible, but nothing’s impossible. Keep moving forward, I’m going to win.”
