Rob Cross booked his place in the knockout rounds of the Grand Slam Of Darts, as fellow #TeamTarget members Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld both proceeded as winners of their respective groups in Wolverhampton.
Cross knew he needed to beat the BDO’s Ross Montgomery to progress further in the tournament, and did so in style, winning 5-2 and sealing the victory with a stunning 164 checkout on the bullseye.
“I knew I had to win tonight to get through and it’s lovely to get over the line,” said Cross. “Ross is a great player and he’s been a bit unlucky because he played well against Michael and me, but it’s all about winning.
“My finishing was good in stages, I’m glad just to get over the line and get the win.
“It’s been fantastic so far this week. The crowd all love the darts and it’s been a massive experience for me, I’m looking forward to going into the knockout stages.”
Target’s 16-time World Champion Phil Taylor already knew he was safely through to the last 16 of the tournament, and it seemed to show, as he fell to a lacklustre 5-3 defeat to last year’s finalist James Wade.
Raymond van Barneveld, however, secured top spot in Group B with a 5-2 win over the promising Irish talent Steve Lennon, who also made it through the group stages on his debut at the tournament.
There was no consolation victory for Target’s Joe Murnan against the world number one though, as the already-eliminated “Shaggy” was beaten 5-2 by Michael van Gerwen.
It means that Taylor will take on Darren Webster for a place in the quarter-finals on Thursday night, while “Barney” and Rob Cross will clash in an all-Target encounter.
Before that however, the round of 16 gets underway on Wednesday evening, with Target duo Stephen Bunting and Dave Chisnall both in action.
“The Bullet” takes on world number two Peter Wright, while “Chizzy” goes up against Lakeside World Champion Glen Durrant.
The action is being screened live in the UK on Sky Sports, and worldwide via the PDC’s broadcast partners.
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