No fairytale end for Taylor as Cross lifts world crown

Former electrician Rob Cross turned off ‘The Power’ for the final time as he denied the retiring Phil Taylor a 17th world title with a stunning 7-2 victory at Alexandra Palace.

The 57-year-old had aspirations of ending his illustrious career in fairytale fashion, but would not have envisaged the kind of performance Cross was to produce in his maiden William Hill World Championship final.

Cross, without a tour card this time last year, averaged a remarkable 107.67, hit 11 maximums and had a checkout percentage of 60 to end his first year as a professional on the Professional Darts Corporation circuit in emphatic style. The world No 6 raced into a 3-0 set lead and, after Taylor, pictured, was denied a first World Championship nine-darter by the width of the double-12 wire, continued his demolition job to scoop a cheque of £400,000.

Taylor, who appeared to make an offensive gesture to the crowd while walking off stage during an interval, still averaged 102.26, yet had no answer to Cross’ heavy scoring and prolific finishing. The defeat brought the curtain down on a glittering career which saw Taylor put darts on the sporting map with his domination, winning over £7million in prize money and more than 200 career titles.