Electrician savors new standing in dart world

HIS nickname on the pro darts circuit is “Voltage.” That’s because until about 18 months ago, Rob Cross, who lives in Hastings on England’s southeast coast, was an electrician.

He spoke of some of the big contracting jobs he’d been on, some that lasted two years or more. High-rises in London, or 15th-century pubs “with walls four-meters thick that were built to last.”

He was proud of those jobs, proud of his trade.

But not once can he recall somebody coming up and saying “brilliant job on those lifts, lad.”

We were at Mandalay Bay, on a sleepy July 4 morning. Four times within 20 minutes Rob Cross was approached for an autograph or to pose for a selfie or to share a few words about how he was able to defeat Phil Taylor — Phil “The Power” Taylor, the Babe Ruth of pro darts, the greatest darts thrower who ever lived — to win the Pro Darts Corporation World Championship just a few months after turning pro.

“Darts in such a little time has really changed my life,” said Cross, who was dressed in tank top, shorts and sneakers, and came off just that unassuming during our chat in the Mandalay Bay convention area, site of the U.S. Darts Masters which runs through Saturday.

He’s as easygoing as the day is long, still an everyman in the eyes of his supporters, which are many.

Shutting off The Power

“Obviously, I’m better financially, but I have a totally different role in life,” said Cross, who has a shaved pate on top and a small paunch around his middle and once fancied playing rugby. “I get to see great places like Vegas — there’s a lot to take in, isn’t there? — and to have big names tell you that you’re great, it’s amazing.”

The biggest name who told Cross he was great was none other than Phil Taylor, who, after feeling Cross’ power at London’s venerable Alexandra Palace in January retired from the sport.

The 16-time world champion was 57 years old. Cross, who became the first

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player to win the PDC World Championship in his first attempt, is 27. Taylor had seen the handwriting on the wall, and Cross’ darts with the tungsten steel tips landing in the bull’s-eye and the treble 20, and he retired on the spot.

“Rob is dedicated; he does everything right. That was me a few years ago,” said “The Power” who earned 52 pounds a week making ceramic toilet flush handles before developing the knack for tossing bull’s-eyes and treble 20s.

“I don’t think Rob Cross will dominate, but I do think he and Michael van Gerwen are going to rule it for the next five years.”

The Dutch-born van Gerwen, 29, won last year’s U.S. Masters at the Tropicana. He’s ranked No. 1 in the world. Cross is ranked No. 3. They are among the eight PDC representatives who will square off against a like number from North America at Mandalay Bay, with first-place paying 20,000 British sterling pounds, or $26,442.50 U.S. dollars.

I’m not sure how many pints of Harvey’s IPA or Sussex Best Bitter that will buy at The Fountain in Cowden, the pub near Edenbridge, Kent, where Rob Cross learned how to toss darts.

Pounding on the door

The journos on the other side of the pond love to write about how Cross was winning tournaments in West Sussex that paid seven pounds just a few months before he pocketed £400,000 by beating Taylor.

“I thought we were going to go there and it was going to be really tough,” said Cross after pulling aside the strap on his tank top to reveal a hint of sunburned shoulder. “I spent three months on the tour; (but) I was getting results. I was beating top players, and I was thinking to myself, ‘This isn’t so bad here. I can win a lot more.’

“I had to get used to the TV tournaments and the big stages. Once I did that and I went into the Worlds, people asked ‘How are you going to do?’ I said ‘I’m going to win it.’”

And so he did.

He showed Taylor and the world’s best dart players the power, and, more importantly, the confidence he had been developing that prompted him to quit his electrician’s job.

Rob Cross, a doting father of three, promised his wife, Georgia, that if he didn’t throw bull’s-eyes and treble 20s on the big stage with the TV cameras rolling within two years he’d go back to being an electrician. It would appear they’re going to have to hire a new bloke to help wire those lifts.

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal. com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ ronkantowski on Twitter.