Rob Cross enjoys Premier League and UK Open success

The world number five from St Leonards was firstly runner-up on night five of the Premier League in Exeter last Thursday.

Cross defeated fellow former world champion Gerwyn Price and 17-year-old sensation Luke Littler before losing to Nathan Aspinall. The 33-year-old produced an outstanding performance to thrash sixth-ranked Price 6-1, averaging 109.69 and landing a 132 checkout.

He then overcame World Championship runner-up Littler 6-3, but lost 6-2 to Aspinall, despite averaging more than two points higher than his fourth-ranked conqueror. That left Cross third in the eight-man Premier League table, having reached three nightly semi-finals and one final in the opening five nights of the elite roadshow competition.

The top four players in the standings after night 16 will go on to contest the Play-Offs at The O2 in London on May 23.

Cross, a two-time European Championship winner, proceeded to convincingly win three matches at the UK Open in Minehead before suffering a disappointing defeat in the last eight. After easing past Rowby-John Rodriguez 10-3 in the last 64 on Friday night, he posted a superb 105.19 average in a 10-4 last-32 victory over 20th-ranked Josh Rock on Saturday afternoon.

Cross then saw off Keane Barry 10-4 in the last 16 on Saturday night only to be beaten 10-7 in a scrappy quarter-final against Ricky Evans on Sunday afternoon.