Darts ace Cross lifts European title to end two-year barren spell

The 2018 world champion from St Leonards returned to the winner's circle after defeating world number three Michael van Gerwen 11-8 in last night's final.

Victory in an event screened lived on ITV4 was Cross's fifth televised title and first since winning the same event in 2019.

He said: "It's nice to win again after the last 18 months, which has probably been the hardest time of my life. I have to dedicate this to my family, friends, management and sponsors who have stood by me and been incredibly supportive."

As a result, Cross moves back up to 11th on the PDC order of merit, having faced the prospect of dropping outside the top 20 had he failed to reach the latter stages in the Austrian city of Salzburg.

The win, which came with a cheque for £120,000, also secured him a place in next month's Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts.

Cross thrashed 14th-ranked Joe Cullen 11-3 in the semi-finals earlier yesterday evening after remarkably racing into a 9-0 lead.

Prior to that, the 31-year-old defeated Portuguese world number seven Jose de Sousa 10-5 in the quarter-finals yesterday afternoon.

Cross overcame 26th-ranked Brendan Dolan 10-4 in round two on Saturday afternoon and Irish youngster Keane Barry 6-3 in round one on Thursday night.