So near but so far: Rob Cross goes close to win over Michael Smith

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Rob Cross suffered an agonising quarter-final defeat to fellow former world champion Michael Smith at the Jack's World Series of Darts finals.

The world number four from St Leonards lost the last three legs - and missed three match darts in the decider - as a 9-7 lead turned into a 10-9 defeat in Amsterdam on Sunday afternoon.

A burst of four successive legs, culminating in a 13-darter, took Cross from 7-5 down to within one of victory - and a semi-final against Peter Wright.

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But legs of 12 and 13 darts brought world number two Smith level at 9-9, and after Cross spurned three darts at double top in the decider, Smith pinned double 10 with last dart in hand.

Rob Cross (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)Rob Cross (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
Rob Cross (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

The match featured five 100-plus checkouts, two of them from Cross, including a 118, and no less than 17 180s, 12 of them by Smith, who averaged 103.02.

The boot was on the other foot in the last 16 on Saturday night as 33-year-old Cross recovered from 5-3 down to edge past Kevin Doets 6-5.

Dutch thrower Doets squandered four match darts in the ninth leg before Cross produced a superb 161 checkout for a 12-darter in the next and then clinched the decider.

There was no such late drama in the opening round on Saturday afternoon as Cross comfortably saw off Australian player Simon Whitlock 6-2.

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