Luke Littler survives Rob Cross scare and strikes nearer to World Champs defence
Luke Littler admitted he wants to be the first man since Gary Anderson a decade ago to defend his Paddy Power PDC World Darts Championship crown – and he took a step towards that on Monday against Rob Cross.
Littler took the opening leg with the confidence of man ready to retake his crown, breaking the 2018 World Champion on tops in the first leg and setting the tone of the entire clash.
The Nuke was sharing the stage with a player who had already conquered this competition, yet he looked unfazed – singing along with the crowd and hitting big numbers to leave the fish.
It would take a massive 108 checkout from Voltage, as he was 1-0 nil on sets, to even make Littler think. Cross roared in celebration, while Littler could only stand and watch.
Cross claimed the next leg and cupped his ears. Littler, who had been dancing across the stage, was beginning to look uneasy as Voltage seized control, the audience firmly in the palm of his hand.
And after a x checkout, Cross had become the first man to take a set of Littler this World Championship.
However, all Cross had done was poke the bear – he could have blinked and he’d lost the third set. Littler turned to the crowd and shrugged.
It had shown promises to become an Ally Pally classic, but it was now all about the reigning World Champion. There was a D10 from the Nuke, and he was 3-1 up on sets.
However, Cross wasn’t going to wilt, and a magnificent 126 on the bullseye saw Cross within one set of the Nuke.
“Wow! We say quite a lot that champions find a way, but when they play each other then this is the stuff that can happen,” Wayne Mardle said on Sky Sports commentary.
“He as been second-best for huge chunks of this match but has found a way to win two of the five sets so far. How will this pan out?! That was brilliant, it really was.”
Cross was suddenly on top; he was the man the conquered the darting world all over again. Voltage missed tops for the set, allowing Littler to nail tops on a ten-dart leg.
And it was tops that made sure Littler advanced to the quarter-finals.
