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Corey Cadby wins maiden senior PDC title by defeating Rob Cross at the UK Open Qualifier 5
Corey Cadby won his first senior PDC title with a brilliant comeback as he defeated Rob Cross in the final of Saturday's Coral UK Open Qualifier Five in Wigan.
The Australian burst onto the scene by winning the PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship title in 2016, and has also tasted victory on the Development Tour circuit before he moved to the UK last month and won a Tour Card.
Competing in only his fifth PDC ProTour event since Qualifying School, Cadby went all the way to claim the £10,000 top prize as he secured his Coral UK Open debut in Minehead next month.
Cadby's performance in the final was one to savour as he soaked up some outstanding darts from the world champion before reeling off five straight legs for victory.
Interestingly Cross won the first title of an unforgettable debut PDC season in March last year so perhaps the Aussie sensation is on track to emulate Voltage! He's 100/1 to land the 2019 world title.
Cross broke by taking out 88 in the opening leg, doubles his lead and added an 11-darter as he opened up a 4-1 cushion over the youngster.
🎯 Corey Cadby has won the first title of his debut PDC season
— Sporting Life (@SportingLife) February 10, 2018
👏 He beat Rob Cross 6-4 in the final having been 4-1 down.
😮 Incidentally, Cross' maiden title came in March last year.
🤔 The new future of darts? (FYI, Cadby is 100/1 for the world title!)#lovethedarts pic.twitter.com/R0HKgdaEKG
Cadby, though, replied with an 11-darter in leg six and then took out double ten before a stunning 161 checkout saw him draw level at four-all, after Cross missed the bull to complete a 125 combination.
Double 10 gave Cadby a fourth straight leg as he hit the front at 5-4, before he opened the 10th leg with a 180 and took out 134 to complete a fine performance.
Cadby, who averaged 99.7 over 70 legs during the day, had begun his day with a whitewash of three-time world champion John Part, before surviving missed match darts against Benito van de Pas.
He then enjoyed 6-3 wins over Jason Lowe - a semi-finalist on Friday - and Darren Johnson before enjoying a 6-2 win over fellow Australian Simon Whitlock in the last 16.
A 6-4 win over Premier League star Michael Smith moved Cadby into the semi-finals, where he swept past Kim Huybrechts with a 6-1 win before claiming the title against Cross with an average of almost 109.
"Last week I didn't really perform as well as I know I should, but today I played really well,” said Cadby.
"I was 5-1 down against Benito and managed to come back and win 6-5 so I was pretty rapt with that win, and it was onwards and upwards from there.
"I shouldn't have won that, and from the next games onwards I was a free man and I just played my own game. I know what I'm capable of and it's just whether you put the darts in the board and perform."
Cadby has moved from Melbourne to be based in the UK this year as he bids to emulate Cross, who capped his remarkable debut year on the circuit by becoming World Champion.
"Everyone wants to be World Champion and Rob doing what he did last year goes to show that if you win your Tour Card, anyone has a chance," added the 22-year-old.
"He's done it and I'm looking to do it as well, but you've got to let your darts do the talking."
Cross was outstanding as he continued his revival, following up Friday's semi-final appearance by reaching the final 24 hours later - only to be denied his fifth PDC ProTour win.
He opened the day with a 118 average as he overcame Jan Dekker 6-2, and he then battled past Nicholas Bell, Stefan Nilles, Chris Dobey and Steve West to reach the semi-finals.
Cross then hit back from 4-3 down to claim a 6-4 victory over world number two Peter Wright in a high-quality last four clash, sealing his spot in the decider with a sublime 156 checkout.
Reigning UK Open champion Wright reached the semi-finals for the third time in five UK Open Qualifiers as he continued his strong form, defeating Michael Barnard, Simon Stevenson, Ian White, Justin Pipe and Jelle Klaasen.
Belgian ace Huybrechts enjoyed his best finish of 2018 so far as he overcame John Goldie, Boris Koltsov, Jamie Lewis, Mervyn King and Vincent Kamphuis.
Qualifier Three winner Smith went out in the last eight in his bid to add another ProTour title, and he was joined in the quarter-finals by West, Kamphuis and Klaasen.
The final Coral UK Open Qualifier will be held on Sunday, after which the leading 96 players from the UK Open Order of Merit will progress to compete in the Coral UK Open TV Finals at the Butlin's Minehead Resort from March 2-4.
Coral UK Open Qualifier Six will be streamed live online in PDCTV-HD at www.pdc.tv, with two boards being streamed simultaneously for subscribers worldwide.
Coral UK Open Qualifier Five Results
(Saturday February 10, Wigan)
Last 16
Corey Cadby 6-2 Simon Whitlock
Michael Smith 6-0 John Henderson
Vincent Kamphuis 6-2 Martin Schindler
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Mervyn King
Jelle Klaasen 6-3 David Evans
Peter Wright 6-1 Justin Pipe
Rob Cross 6-3 Chris Dobey
Steve West 6-4 Jonny Clayton
Quarter-Finals
Corey Cadby 6-4 Michael Smith
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Vincent Kamphuis
Peter Wright 6-2 Jelle Klaasen
Rob Cross 6-4 Steve West
Semi-Finals
Corey Cadby 6-1 Kim Huybrechts
Rob Cross 6-4 Peter Wright
Final
Corey Cadby 6-4 Rob Cross