Cross reaches Cazoo Players Championship final – Edhouse claims Smith scalp

Cross was runner-up to world number three Michael van Gerwen at the Cazoo Players Championship Finals in Minehead last weekend.

The world number six from St Leonards won five matches across three days in an event screened live on ITV4 before coming up narrowly short in a superb final on Sunday night.

He said: "It's been an amazing weekend, but it was Michael's night. Mike was phenomenal. I really enjoyed this weekend and there are positives to take - I'll move on to the World Championship."

Cross averaged 100.33 and landed 11 180s in the final, yet was still beaten 11-6 as Van Gerwen produced a nine-darter and 170 checkout to claim the title for the seventh time.

Van Gerwen's nine-darter came in the third leg and he went on to establish a 7-3 lead as both players served up a masterclass of power-scoring. Cross rallied by winning three successive legs, but missed two darts at double 16 to level at 7-7 and Van Gerwen pounced with that brilliant 170 finish to lead 8-6.

Cross also had chances to win the next leg, but that too went the way of Van Gerwen and the three-time world champion nailed a 142 outshot in leg 16 before wrapping up victory in the next.

"Once I started to find my feet and find a few 180s, it could have been a little bit different," added Cross. "But I missed chances and missed doubles."

Cross booked his place in the final by defeating world number seven Jonny Clayton 11-7 in the semi-finals earlier on Sunday evening, winning seven of the last 10 legs.

This time he averaged 97.83, hit six 180s and landed two ton-plus outshots, the highest of which was a 132.

Cross comfortably saw off in-form world number 14 Dirk van Duijvenbode 10-3 in the quarter-finals on Sunday afternoon. The 32-year-old recorded an impressive 104.17 average, was successful with 10 of his 16 attempts at a double and nailed a 143 checkout.

Cross overcame German player Martin Schindler 10-6 in round three on Saturday evening, helped by winning six successive legs from 2-0 down. The 2018 world champion landed five 180s and landed a 108 checkout.

That was after Cross clinched the final two legs to pip two-time world champion Gary Anderson 6-5 in round two on Saturday afternoon.

World number 11 Anderson missed a match dart in leg 10, allowing Cross to finish 85 for 5-5 and he then took out 288 in six superb darts to win the decider against the throw.

Cross saw off Dutch thrower Kevin Doets 6-3 in round one last Friday morning, wrapping up the victory with an 11-dart leg after landing a 143 checkout in the opener.

Edhouse, meanwhile, made his mark on the tournament with a brilliant 6-5 first-round win over newly-crowned Grand Slam of Darts champion Michael Smith.

What's more, the Hastings-based 39-year-old clinched all of the final three legs as he recovered from 5-3 down to record one of the biggest victories of his career. And he did it despite averaging 12 points fewer than World Championship finalist and world number four Smith, although Edhouse did land a 111 outshot.

Edhouse, who is now inside the world's top 50, was then edged out 6-5 by world number 15 Dimitri Van den Bergh in round two, despite hitting four 180s.