Rob Cross arrived at the PDC Media Day looking like a man who’d been through the wars, found a shortcut back, and was ready to start swinging again. A fire alarm tried to derail the morning — perhaps a metaphor for his season — but Cross brushed it off with trademark self-deprecation, smirking as he delivered the line of the day: “It’d give a paracetamol a headache.”
It set the tone. Honest. Loose. And surprisingly reflective from the former world champion who has spent the past twelve months drifting somewhere between frustration, reinvention, and outright boredom.
On Missing the Slam — but Not Missing Everything
Voltage didn’t qualify for the Grand Slam, and ordinarily he wouldn’t have watched a second of it. Rob Cross does not do darts on TV. Not for research, not for homework, not for enjoyment. But one name forced him to break his own rule: Beau Greaves.
“I actually watched her,” he admitted. “She did incredibly well. She held herself together, missed a few match darts, but she’s here to stay and she’s going to win games easily.”
There was admiration in his voice — the kind veterans recognise in generational talents. He recalled a moment from Frankfurt that has clearly been living rent-free in his brain: “Five 180s on the bounce.”
The kind of ridiculous, cosmic-level scoring burst that only the chosen few ever produce. Cross believes her ceiling is “limitless” and suggests it’s only a matter of time before Greaves bulldozes her way into deep major runs.
Cross on Himself — Brutal Honesty, No Sugar
If his praise for Greaves was glowing, his assessment of his own form was brutally comedic. “Peter Rabbit would beat me at the minute,” he joked, half-laughing, half-knowing deep down that the competitive rust is real.
It has been a muted year for Voltage — a couple of sparks, but no inferno. Long spells without competitive action. A rhythm that never quite found the beat. But the man who stunned the world in 2018 hasn’t forgotten what it takes:
“I’ve won it before, I know what it takes. That prep will be very important for me going in.” And the prep is going back to basics. Back to Hastings. Back to the inner circle. Back to the daily grind. “I’ll run four hours a day. I won’t be at home — I’ll be fully focused. If I do that, I’ll be great at the World Championships.”
The Cross paradox returns: a player who can look half-asleep one week then win a title the next. Even he laughs at it: “I’m a bit spontaneous… but the prep is key.”
On Pressure, Rankings, and Life Beyond the Top Ten.
Pressure? Cross doesn’t feel it anymore. Except once — the year he became world champion. “That whole year changed stuff. It was difficult — different to anything I’d experienced.” It scrambled him. It messed with his head. The title that changed his life also temporarily derailed his form. Since then he has lived almost exclusively inside the world’s top 10 — until this season. Does he care? Not really.
“There’s no worries. It’s just about getting a routine and working harder.” He even joked about returning to electrics… well, sort of: “No, I’ll go on Jobseeker’s Allowance! Why not?”
A Million Reasons — But Only One That Matters
With the World Championship winner now earning a record-shattering £1 million, many players have openly wondered whether the pressure will be suffocating. Not Cross. “It’s the pinnacle of the game. You win that world title and the respect is different. A million pounds? It’d be nice to go and win it. If I get the prep right, I’ll be ready.” There’s no fear in his voice — just appetite. The kind of appetite that made him dangerous in the first place.
On Motivation, Mental Resetting, and the Rumours
This season hasn’t been easy. He hasn’t hidden it either. “I wasn’t in the best place a month ago, but it’s changed.” The gym. The routine. The structure. The attempt to rebuild the engine rather than keep kicking it into life week-by-week.
Recent remarks about “not knowing how long” he’d stay in the sport sent the rumour mill into meltdown — but Cross swatted the speculation away. “Retirement isn’t an option. Nowhere near.” But he also refuses to lie to himself. “If you push all the buttons and it’s not good enough, then you’ve got to do something else. But it’s not at that point — not even close.”
Voltage at the Crossroads
So here stands Rob Cross: Battle-scarred, self-aware, mischievous, slightly frustrated… but hungry. Dangerously hungry. “If I get it right, watch out — everything could be great.” The fire alarm might have interrupted Media Day. But by the time he left, it was obvious: The only thing truly on fire right now might be Rob Cross himself.
——ENDS——
Images: PDC
