Dutch Darts Masters Glory for Cross

At the TOTO Dutch Darts Masters on Saturday, Rob Cross defeated Stephen Bunting 8–5 in the Den Bosch final to win his sixth World Series of Darts title.

Cross put up a series of outstanding performances at De Maaspoort to win the Toon Greebe Trophy after suffering a first-round loss in Bahrain a week earlier.

After defeating Richard Veenstra on Friday, Cross defeated another Dutchman, Jermaine Wattimena, in the quarterfinals on Saturday, hitting six doubles in eight tries.

Then, in his semi-final victory over Gerwyn Price, the 2018 World Champion averaged over 100 and completed 50% of his darts at double.

He then defeated the Bahrain Darts Masters champion 8-5 in the final, finishing 8/15 doubles and average over 102, denying Stephen Bunting back-to-back World Series championships.

Only the legs of 14, 12, and 12 darts allowed Bunting to tie the score, as he eliminated 62, 94, and 130. Cross began the final stronger, leading 2-0 and adding 13 darts to move 3-1 and 5-2 up.

However, Cross rallied to take the lead again on double eight, and then a pair of double eight checkouts sealed the victory and the first European World Series.

Cross, the winner of the US Darts Masters the previous year, remarked, “It’s amazing to come here and win – it’s special for me.”

“The audience was amazing, and I’m so appreciative that I finally won in the Netherlands. I got through today thanks to my perseverance and concentration.

“Stephen is a credit to the sport and a wonderful man. He completed all of the job today, arrived, and most likely ran out of steam.

“It means so much to come here and win this one. I’ve thoroughly loved this weekend, and I’m a huge World Series fan.”

In his quest for further glory, Bunting defeated two former world champions to secure his place in a second consecutive World Series final, only to fall short against another.

In the last eight, he defeated Raymond van Barneveld with a 13-darter, and in a close semi-final match, he defeated Luke Littler with an 11-darter.

“To reach two finals back-to-back is amazing for me and it was a great final,” said Bunting. “Rob played a really good game and had me under pressure from the start.

“If you’d said to me at the start of the tournament that I was going to be in the final I’d have taken it. Credit goes to Rob. I’ll dust myself down and get ready for Milton Keynes next week.

I’m playing the best darts of my life, and with the fanbase I’ve got, the social media; everything around me is in a great place and I can’t wait to continue the form in the World Masters.”

Littler defeated Michael van Gerwen 6-3 in their quarterfinal, despite the Dutchman hitting two 12-darters.

However, the new World Champion was unable to qualify for a second Den Bosch final after Bunting left him stuck on 130 after nine darts in the conclusion of their last four duel.

All four surviving Dutch stars were eliminated in the quarter-finals, with Kevin Doets helping Price recover from a 3-1 deficit to defeat 145 in the deciding leg.

Dutch Darts Masters Glory for Cross

Saturday January 25

Quarter-Finals

Stephen Bunting 6-5 Raymond van Barneveld

Luke Littler 6-3 Michael van Gerwen

Gerwyn Price 6-5 Kevin Doets

Rob Cross 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena

Semi-Finals

Stephen Bunting 7-6 Luke Littler

Rob Cross 7-3 Gerwyn Price

Final

Rob Cross 8-5 Stephen Bunting