Darts history has been made tonight.
The New Year’s Day World Darts Championship Final was set to be the last appearance of Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, widely regarded as the best darts player of all time…
Taylor came in to the match as the hot favourite, facing off against newcomer Rob Cross, a 27-year-old appearing in his first ever World Darts Championship.
Cross, hot on the heels of a shock victory against Michael Van Gerwen, put in an indomitable performance that shocked and silenced the Ally Pally crowd, who were eager to cheer any decent leg by Phil Taylor. But despite that support from the crowd, Taylor never gained a foothold in the game. Cross was three sets up before Taylor got anywhere, and the man nicknamed ‘Voltage’ never showed any nerves — even when Taylor briefly got in his face and tried to psych him out.
WATCH: Can you believe this?! @RobCross180 6⃣ – 1⃣ @PhilTaylor 🔥🔥🔥
Watch live on Sky Sports Darts or follow it here: https://t.co/aro77AAsao #LoveTheDarts https://t.co/CGxI4QkXOj
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 1, 2018
Taylor, despite repeatedly hitting maximums and putting in a performance worthy of a final, simply could not catch Cross, who continued to land his doubles.
In the end, Cross was a runaway winner — winning seven sets to Taylor’s two — becoming the World Darts Champion in the first year of his professional career, and taking home the £400,000 prize money to boot.
HE’S DONE IT! Debutant @RobCross180 beats sixteen-time world champion @PhilTaylor!!! 🎯🏆 Reaction here: https://t.co/aro77AAsao #LoveTheDarts https://t.co/X9lQ47alag
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 1, 2018
