ROB CROSS shocked the world to win the World Darts Championship on Sunday night.
The newbie beat darts legend Phil Taylor to win his first major title in his first attempt at the PDC World Championship.
Cross, nicknamed Voltage because he was an electrician before turning professional, was a 125-1 outsider to win the title at the start of the tournament.
Taylor, winner of 14 World Championships, retired after the defeat.
Here’s everything we know about Rob Cross.
WHO IS ROB CROSS?
Cross grew up in Edenbridge, a town on the border of Kent and East Sussex. He now lives in Hastings.
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Cross has enjoyed a stunning rise – he has only been professional for a year, leaving his former job at the start of 2017.
Before that he was an electrician, earning him the nickname Voltage.
An image on social media showed him winning £7 at a local pairs darts night in Littlehampton, West Sussex, a year ago – the total prize was £14 that he shared with James Stephenson.
Cross attempted to qualify for the World Championships in both 2016 and 2017 but failed.
His first major tournament was the UK Open in 2016, where he reached the 4th round.
At that event in 2017 he went a round further, but it wasn’t until late in the year that he started to impress.
He reached the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts and the semi-final of the Players Championship.
In October, Cross met Michael van Gerwen in the final of the European Championship, but lost 11-7 to the Dutch master in his first major final.
Cross was ranked 20th at the start of the tournament.
HOW OLD IS ROB CROSS?
Don’t let the hair fool you… he is 27.
He was born at Tunbridge Wells Hospital in Pembury, Kent, on September 21, 1990,
HOW MUCH MONEY DID ROB CROSS WIN?
The prize money for the tournament was a record high of £1.8million in total.
There was also an additional £20,000 available for those who threw a nine-dart finish, although none managed it (Paul Lim and Phil Taylor were both one throw away).
Preliminary round losers earned £4,500, first round losers £11,000, second round losers £18,500 and third round losers £27,000 each.
For the latter stages, the four quarter-finalists won £40,000 each and the two losing semi-finalists £85,000 each.
Phil Taylor won £170,000 for finishing the runner up.
Cross won £400,000 for winning the tournament.
WHO DID ROB CROSS BEAT TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP?
In the first round he beat unranked Japanese player Seigo Asada 3-0.
In the second round he had a much tougher time, almost losing to Michael Smith – who missed two match-winning darts.
Cross eventually come back to win 4-3.
He dominated against John Henderson in the last 16, winning 4-1 but struggled against 23-year-old world youth champion Dimitri van den Bergh.
Cross had been leading 4-1 in the best-of-nine quarter-final, but the Belgian came back to tie the match 4-4.
Cross won the decider 3-1, setting up a meeting with reigning champion Michael van Gerwen.
In a closely fought game, all eight of the first sets went with the throw.
Van Gerwen missed five darts to win the tenth leg, before Cross forced a sudden death leg.
In the 11th, Van Gerwen and Cross both missed match-winning darts on double 16, before Cross won with a double 8.
The win meant he was the first debutant to make it to the final since Kirk Shepherd in 2008.
The New Year’s Day final saw Cross dominate.
He raced into a 6-1 lead, and although Taylor held the eighth, Cross won the next frame with a 140 finish.
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