5:16 p.m
Decider at the end of the fifth leg
Very close number: Cross has 127 remaining, de Graaf is at 146. The Englishman missed the finish over Bull this time, but is lucky that The Rebel doesn’t bring his number to zero. Shortly afterwards, Voltage makes the break perfect – he is still one set short of the match!
5:14 p.m
Voltage presses the red button
A 180, a 134 – and yet it is Cross who gets an arrow to win the leg with 84 points remaining. Even though he accidentally hits the T7 and ends up having to aim for the bullseye, he is there. Great finish!
5:12 p.m
Cross in trouble
Although de Graaf has a bogey number of 159, he still has nine darts to get it to zero. In the end he does this without much effort. This means he is only one leg short of equalizing the set – despite an average of around 92!
5:10 p.m
No advantage for either player
Thanks in part to a 180, Cross pulls away in the second leg, stays cool on the double and equalizes. There is currently a lack of highlights, but the set is on a knife’s edge.
5:07 p.m
Go on
The fourth movement continues without a break, which de Graaf is allowed to open. He is slowly catching up with Cross in terms of scoring, and his double rate is also improving. So it’s him who grabs the first leg.
5:05 p.m
de Graaf is alive
That was almost the Big Fish! When trying to check 167, Cross only hits T19, but not another triple. So the Swede comes again, who gets the T20 twice, but clearly misses the bullseye. Voltage then leaves a set dart and is caught cold by the underdog. In the second attempt he chases the dart into the D16 – 1:2 in the sets!
5:03 p.m
It will be exciting
And yet: It goes into a decider again, just like in the first sentence. de Graaf easily takes the leg again because Cross clearly misses the 110. Now would be the moment to put an exclamation mark on the favorite.
5:00 p.m
Great checkout from the former world champion
You can do it like that. Cross checks 148 on Tops on his own throw and is then celebrated for it. Basically, he plays at a solid level, but is rarely really challenged by de Graaf. In this set alone he attempts ten more points per shot than his opponent (107:97).
16:58
Six perfects
Cross threw two 180s into the board in the second leg of the third leg, but then he peppered the first dart of his third shot not into the T19, but into the single 3. However, de Graaf also scores strongly and has 81 points remaining after nine arrows. In the end he misses the D9, but at the same time benefits from Cross’ missed dart on the D16. In the third attempt he caught the double field to make it 1-1 in the legs.
16:52
de Graaf has no chance
Even at the beginning of the third round, de Graaf cannot keep up with his opponent’s scoring. He has six darts for his finish, but ultimately needs the seventh, which he nails in the D20.
16:49
Bitter box for de Graaf
This is a real blow to de Graaf. He starts the leg perfectly with 177 and has 92 a little later. He immediately hits the T20, but misses twice, first the D16 and then the D8. Cross, in turn, takes 54 points and takes the second set with him.
16:47
Confident appearance
Brave from Cross, who has 128 and doesn’t go for the bullseye, even though de Graaf has a finish. He can’t check the 150 again, then the 2018 world champion is there effortlessly. It smells like a second set win
4:40 p.m
Break for Cross
That hurts from de Graaf’s point of view. Although he has the 74, he leaves the dart on the D20. Cross, previously at 179, checks the 80 over tops to break and make it 1-0.
16:37
Close race for the first set
The chance for Cross! Because de Graaf doesn’t take 160, the Englishman has a chance to win the set. But the dart is clearly over the top – and then the Swede has the opportunity to hit the bull, but only hits the single bull. Then Cross is there, the arrow in the D20 means the set is 1-0.
4:35 p.m
It’s getting tight
Decisive leg in the first sentence. This time Cross scores significantly weaker than the native Dutchman, who checks on the D18 and makes it 2:2. Things are getting tricky for the favorite.
16:33
2:1 for Cross
This makes Cross pretty callous now. He takes the third leg with a 49er checkout without any problems. de Graaf doesn’t do well in terms of scoring.
16:31
Re-break for Cross
The Englishman shifts up a gear in the second leg. He has six darts to bring his finish to zero. In the end he checks on the D8 for a re-break on the second attempt.
16:24
Let’s go
de Graaf starts off with strong scoring and throws the first maximum of the game. Although Cross has the first dart on tops, the underdog secures the leg with the throw into D20. A quick break.
16:21
Surprise factor de Graaf
The Dutchman, in turn, caused a surprise in the first round as an unseeded player. He sent local hero Ritchie Edhouse home 3-2 in sets in a hard-fought match – who in turn is around 40 places higher up in the world rankings than de Graaf, who is ranked 98th. De Graaf also caused astonishment in the second round: he beat the Portuguese José de Sousa 3-1. So the self-confidence should be high against Cross.
16:17
Cross can be expanded
With Cross, not only is number seven in the world involved in the action, but also one of the possible title contenders. The 2018 world champion’s results were too good not to include him this year. In his first encounter at this year’s World Cup, the Englishman didn’t exactly cover himself with glory. He beat the French underdog Thibault Tricole 3-0 in the sets, but an 89 average was probably his C game. He will have to step up his game against de Graaf today.
16:16
Hello!
Hello and welcome to the third round of the Darts World Cup 2024! In the last match of the afternoon session, Rob Cross meets Jeffrey de Graaf, and it should start around 4:25 p.m.