An emotional Rob Cross became the highest ranked player through to the next round of the PDC Home Tour - but only after an incredible comeback from 4-0 down in his final match.
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The world number four is still mourning the loss of his grandfather Colin Miles to Covid-19 in April and attended the funeral in a small family gathering as recently as Monday.
It was therefore to be expected that an under practiced Cross would be well below his usual standards and although he averaged less than 85 in all three matches, he still managed to win them all.
After easing past William Borland 5-3 in his opening match, the 29-year-old from Hastings then survived a final-leg decider against the talented Dimitri van den Bergh to seize control of the group.
Bizarrely, van den Bergh was playing in Peter Wright house, where he's been staying since the start of lockdown, and having thrashed Karel Sedlacek 5-1 in his opening game, it looked as though weeks of practicing with the world champion would pay off.
The Belgian averaged 10 points more than the 2018 world champion in their encounter with an impressive 91 but the result seemingly knocked the stuffing out of him and he then succumbed to a surprise 5-3 defeat to Borland, who had just been thrashed 5-0 by Sedlacek.
So it all came down to the final match of the night, with Cross needing four legs to guarantee top spot and Sedlacek needing to triumph 5-3 or better to progress to the next round.
The PDC's only tour card holder from the Czech Republic, who was an 8/1 chance to prevail at the start of the night, flew out of the blocks by winning the opening four legs, but he ran out of steam as Voltage staged a stunning comeback from his newly-built 'darts out-house' in his garden.
After becoming the first player in the PDC Home Tour to win a match from 4-0 down, Cross was still only thinking of one man.
The 2019 World Matchplay champion said: "I still miss the old boy so much but he would have wanted me to compete tonight. Hopefully next time I can play much better."
CROSS WINS THE GROUP!
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) May 7, 2020
From 4-0 down, Rob Cross rattles off five legs on the spin to win a last leg decider and he becomes the highest ranked player to win his group in the Unibet Home Tour! pic.twitter.com/MCqvQSCIr0
What is it like living with Peter Wright? 💭👀
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) May 7, 2020
Dimitri Van den Bergh reveals all!
Watch the #PDCHomeTour live on the Sky Sports app now! 📲 pic.twitter.com/puJDBdbDWL
Before the night, Cross said: "It's been a really heart-breaking couple of months. My grandad went downhill really fast and it was a massive shock.
"It was hard to just have a few of us close family at his funeral. It wasn't the send-off he deserved, that's for sure. I think that's the hardest part of this virus - from the moment the person goes into hospital, you don't see them at all.
"It's like someone is just ripped out of your life overnight and not seen again. It is totally surreal and feels like a bad nightmare.
"With over 30,000 people having been lost to this virus, I really do feel for all those 30,000 families going through what we have over the past couple of months.
"There's no warning, no time to grieve. It's like someone so special is plucked from your life.
"Somehow you have to stay strong for the people around you. My nan is living with us now, now it's all about being there for her now and keeping her safe."
- Each night’s action begins at 1930 BST, and will include webcam footage of each player and their dart board, live score graphics and commentary from Dan Dawson. All PDC Home Tour action will be broadcast live on PDCTV for FREE to ALL registered PDCTV users, regardless of whether you have a paid or free membership
PDC Home Tour Darts: Thursday results and Friday Fixtures
Play begins at 1930 BST each night
Best of nine legs
Click here for Sky Bet odds
GROUP 21 - Thursday May 7
Note: Karel Sedlacek replaces Derk Telnekes, who has withdrawn due to family reasons
- Rob Cross 5-2 William Borland
- Dimitri Van den Bergh 5-1 Karel Sedlacek
- William Borland 0-5 Karel Sedlacek
- Rob Cross 5-4 Dimitri Van den Bergh
- Dimitri Van den Bergh 3-5 William Borland
- Karel Sedlacek 4-5 Rob Cross
GROUP STANDINGS
- Rob Cross P 3 W 3 L 0 Leg Diff +5 Pts 6
- Dimitri Van den Bergh P 3 W 1 L 2 Leg Diff +1 Pts 2
- Karel Sedlacek P 3 W 1 L 2 Leg Diff +0 Pts 2
- William Borland P 3 W 1 L 2 Leg Diff -5 Pts 2
GROUP 22 - Friday May 8
- Ian White v Jesus Noguera
- Danny Noppert v James Wilson
- Jesus Noguera v James Wilson
- Ian White v Danny Noppert
- Danny Noppert v Jesus Noguera
- James Wilson v Ian White
CLICK HERE FOR FULL TOURNAMENT RESULTS & FIXTURES
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