Taylor denied fairytale finish
Underdog Rob Cross capped off his remarkable rise by winning the world darts title at his first attempt, denying legend Phil Taylor a fairytale swansong with a stunning performance yesterday.
Taylor, a 16-time world champion nicknamed ‘‘The Power’’, was thrashed 7-2 by the 27-year-old former electrician, who was playing his first world final at the end of his first year as a professional.
Last year Cross, who was born in 1990, the year in which Taylor won his first world title, was watching from home as Dutch star Michael van Gerwen beat Gary Anderson in the final. He had only just ditched his job as an electrician and turned professional.
Fast forward 12 months and he is now one of the most recognisable names in darts, and also a lot richer, having pocketed 400,000 pounds (NZ$750,000) for beating Taylor at a packed, and stunned, Alexandra Palace in London.
It was a spectacular showing. Cross averaged 107.67 – the third highest in the history of the final – hit 11 180s, and was deadly with his finishing, the one area Taylor would have fancied his chances of having an edge over Cross.
Taylor was far from poor; he averaged 102.26 himself. But he was simply outgunned, struggling to hold his throw at every turn and finding it almost impossible to break Cross, who came up with several big plays throughout the match, including a couple of superb checkouts of 167 and 153 under pressure.
Cross and Taylor lifted the trophy together as the crowd chanted Taylor’s name.
‘‘He was like me 25 years ago,’’ Taylor said.
‘‘It was like I was at the end of my career and he’s at the beginning. It was an old man against a young man. It was mismatch really . . . I didn’t have the energy to beat him.’’
Cross complimented his opponent, lending him the trophy and singing his praises.
‘‘This game has changed my life. I’ve won my first world title. But tonight is all about Phil Taylor. You won’t see another sportsman like him. I’d like to say thank you to him, but at the same time, I played well tonight.’’
Taylor said before the tournament it would be his last professional event before retirement. The 57-year-old won his world titles between 1990 and 2013, including eight straight from 1995.