Interview with Hastings star Rob Cross ahead of Premier League darts coming to Brighton
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00:00Thanks for joining us today. What are your thoughts heading into the Premier League this weekend, this Thursday?
00:04Well, I'm really looking forward to it. It's obviously only really an hour back from where I used to live and stuff.
00:12And I always love coming to Brighton because I have so many friends trying to get tickets here, so they'll be in there tomorrow night.
00:19And it's just a special venue, I suppose. I really do, really do enjoy this evening.
00:25Yeah, you said it's as close to a home event as you're going to get. Does that spur you on?
00:30Yeah, of course. Obviously, look, we have to all be motivated every week.
00:34But if you can get a bit of home factoring in and maybe a little bit of out there and other stuff, obviously.
00:41I've sort of, I've always played half alright here and I must enjoy it and just get in there and want to sort of get on with it now, really.
00:49Yeah, semi's last year against Humphreys, I think it was. Obviously, you played with your first game. Are you looking for revenge?
00:55Yeah, obviously, it'd be nice to get over the win. I think I'll play well tomorrow. I actually do believe I'll win.
01:03He's a good player. He's obviously very organised. Last year when I played him, I think I lost.
01:08I think he had 108 or sank, you know. So, this is part and parcel of the game.
01:12It's a tough school sometimes, but look, I really, really do look forward to that game.
01:17Yeah, and obviously, you've got a very good record against them. I think it's five wins in the last seven between you two.
01:22Obviously, one of them was that European Tour final. So, you must go into it with a lot of confidence.
01:26Yeah, me and him always seem to produce against each other. He always plays great against me, you know.
01:32You can look back when I've lost also in the Grand Slam final and other stuff.
01:36I had 104 that day. I think I had 103 or sank. So, look, we always seem to perform.
01:42So, it's a great, great sort of game to what you want to be involved in, is what I'm trying to say.
01:47It's one of them that you know you've got to turn up, otherwise you won't win.
01:52Yeah, and playing these players, you know, not just your Humphreys, your Linders, your Vanguards, etc.
01:56You must push your game to the next level as well.
01:58Yeah, I think I've always had a game in me where I can compete with the best in the world
02:05and I have an understanding that I can beat the best in the world.
02:09But then on the other end, a different day, maybe I might lose to anyone in the world, you know.
02:13So, mine is just getting up there, enjoying it, embracing it and just, yeah, trying to get that performance out.
02:21And if I do that, I believe I'll beat anyone.
02:23Yeah, obviously a disappointing weekend at the UK, losing 10-6 to Josh Hawke.
02:28How was that weekend overall for you?
02:30I did a really good win against Danny. Danny, obviously, in the Saturday afternoon, 10-9 there.
02:37Tough game and I think he put 11-180s in and I still managed to win.
02:41Just proves that scoring don't win the day sometimes, you know.
02:46But I was happy with it.
02:50Look, they're long days, they're long days and no excuses on them.
02:53Sometimes, yeah, I seem to find you start a UK Open and that's where you want to be is on the Sunday.
02:59You can start to see a bit of light then.
03:00But so many games, so many short times, you know, late nights and other stuff.
03:05And yeah, it just wasn't meant to be for me this year.
03:08But no excuses and look forward to going back and hopefully trying to win there next year.
03:12Yeah, obviously a lot of travelling as well, from Monmouth to back to Lincoln, down to Brighton, to Belgium this weekend.
03:19It must be such a hectic schedule for you at the moment.
03:22I think the calendar, when we look at the calendar, the calendar doesn't really stop.
03:26So the way I work it, I try to go this year or my plan is this year that I'll go hard at the start.
03:33So we get through maybe three or four months.
03:37I'm still going to have a bit of time off here and there to sort of miss the odd weekend like Graz, for instance, on the European tour.
03:45So I can get a couple of weekends out.
03:47And then after that, I've got holiday booked in the middle.
03:50But you just have to, with this calendar now, because you could literally work all year round.
03:54You need to man-manage it as a professional.
03:57And I'm very lucky with my team that my team helps me to man-manage it too.
04:02Yeah, I think not just your team, but the fact you're number four in the world, just slouching up there.
04:06I think you have that luxury to miss events and still be able to qualify for the players' championships, European championships.
04:12Yeah, if I didn't have, I think the equivalent is if I didn't have Premier League and I didn't have World Series,
04:20I could play the whole of the ranking events.
04:24But with the World Series, for instance, and the Premier League, I couldn't play all the ranking events and all,
04:29because it's just, I don't think it's even viable that you can actually get from one place to get to abroad to play a pro tour
04:37and get there in time sometimes.
04:40So, yeah, you have to man-manage it just for that way.
04:44Yeah. Is that not on the PEC to make a better schedule?
04:48I don't believe so. I think it just comes down to the top boys man-managing their schedule so they don't burn themselves out.
04:55Like I said, if you're not, there's obviously 128 all-card holders.
05:00And if you're not in the World Series or the Premier League together,
05:05then, yeah, it is possible that you can play everything on the other side.
05:09And you're still going to get three weeks off in August, for instance.
05:13You're going to get other time off if you don't qualify for a European.
05:17You'll get that off, you know. So there is enough time in the schedule as normal.
05:21And I think the top boys have to man-manage their schedule just to make sure it's right for them.
05:26And obviously, look, there's eight players in the Premier League, for instance.
05:30And we're all different. We all feel different stuff at different times.
05:33And we probably all do it a little bit different.
05:36But you have to make it right for you as the individual.
05:39Definitely, yeah. I think one positive of playing so much is playing in front of all these crowds.
05:43Obviously, Brighton, your home event, it's going to have a brilliant crowd.
05:47How much are you looking forward to playing in front of them?
05:50It's going to be fantastic, you know.
05:52I always get a nice welcome here and I get quite a bit of support and stuff.
05:56So that's going to be fantastic.
05:58I think the difference is, look, these crowds are big every single week.
06:03And it helps me personally because I'm more a player that wants to play on a stage, you know.
06:10Sometimes when we go to pro tours, sometimes no noise.
06:14It's a little bit dull and other stuff. You have to motivate yourself in different ways.
06:18But to go on these stages in front of all these people, it's just, yeah,
06:22you feel like you're going to burst out of your skin. You want to perform.
06:26Yeah, what is the difference between playing in a pro tour and a big stage like the Premier League,
06:31or a World Championship, etc.? Because it must be so difficult, in a sense, to transition from one stage to another.
06:39I think, obviously, going on the stage, I enjoy that more, which I'm quite fortunate about.
06:44But there'll probably be other professionals out there or other people with tour cards.
06:48But I prefer to play on the floor with no noise just because not being used to it, you know.
06:54I think for me, playing on the floor, being that quiet, and you still go into streaming
07:01and it'll still be streamed and don't get me wrong, the room and everything usually is fantastic.
07:06It's all done properly. It's all professional.
07:10But it's just, there's just no atmosphere. There's just no buzz, you know.
07:14You go back to the table, you have a laugh, and I have a laugh maybe with Josh Rock, Scott Williams,
07:20and my management team there. But apart from that, when you're up there, there's no atmosphere.
07:26So you just have to generate everything for yourself. And obviously, it's self-explanatory being on a stage,
07:32you know, you're asked to start beating hard. The adrenaline kicks in when you're on that walk-on,
07:38you know, you walk up there and then it's really game on and the crowd's buzzing.
07:43So I suppose it's easier for me to pick myself up on a stage performing that way,
07:52and that adrenaline kicks in that little bit easier instead of it not kicking in on the floor, you know.
07:59Definitely, yeah. Obviously, there's a positive speed on the stage, but obviously,
08:04there's negatives and risks. I look at Karlsgade, the booing, the whistling.
08:07Obviously, it's been more like that in the recent few years. Does that affect you as such on stage?
08:13No, not really. What I would say, it's been there all the time.
08:18I'd say it's been there pretty much nearly all the time. I've been a professional, you know, eight years.
08:23It probably has been there for the whole of the eight years. Crowds get involved here and there.
08:28Not forgetting here, we've gone to bigger crowds now, here and there.
08:32It doesn't really affect me. Usually, I do well under it. I hold myself together very well.
08:37And I still had my chance that night. I didn't miss that double against Luke because of the crowd.
08:44I actually threw it all right. And I think the fact is, I also know when I throw a dart and I've bottled it,
08:51you know, because I'll end up two inches inside. But I've actually threw it all right.
08:55It never went in. That's a fact of life and that we have to move on.
08:59But the crowds, I don't think we can change them. I just think we just have to get on with it sometimes.
09:04You know, we're chatting fair all the time, but it's just part and parcel of life.
09:09And yeah, you just can't let it bother you.
09:11Do you think it's kind of leading down to the media approach? Obviously, you've started becoming more popular recently.
09:17Do you think that's why it's been more in the media recently?
09:23I think obviously with the Littler Effect and stuff like that, he's changed the media game and stuff.
09:31And he's the flag boy really for it now, him and Luke Humphries really,
09:36because Luke, I'll do him a discredit if I didn't say him because he's world number one and all.
09:41But at the same time, media's really changed. Popularity's gone up in the game.
09:47And probably for the young man and all because it's not what you normally see.
09:52You don't watch people normally break just on the scene and do what he's done, you know, which is remarkable.
09:59But it's good for everyone. It changes that sort of perspective and the eyes on the game, you know, what you need.
10:06Yeah, definitely. Obviously, you being number four in the world, does that kind of, with Littler and Humphries as you're saying,
10:12does that give you a sense of responsibility as well to carry Darts to the next stage?
10:16I think, yeah, it's always good to be a good ambassador to the game and stuff like that.
10:21And if you go out or if you're in the public or even playing on the stage,
10:26trying to conduct yourself well and doing the right things, I think it's very important, you know.
10:32We've got a lot of kids now that watch the game, obviously, since Luke's done what he's done.
10:36So it's not really a great thing if, for instance, I was to do something wrong
10:42and it's not really setting a decent sort of look, really, for them to look up on.
10:50Definitely. And do you get more people coming to you in the streets or just asking you for a picture or whatnot?
10:56To be honest, I've had it for years. So ever since, obviously, winning the world title and stuff, that's been happening for years.
11:03And yeah, the popularity is obviously probably over the years because you become like an household name and people are used to seeing you on TV.
11:11You end up, yeah, you end up getting more.
11:14But what I would say, yeah, that took me a bit of a while to sort of get used to after the world championship.
11:21But yeah, I have to admit, if I can, if I can give photos and stuff like that, then sort of I will.
11:28If I haven't, yeah, if I'm on a time schedule or whatever and I need to be somewhere, then yeah, it's a bit unfortunate.
11:34That's fair enough. Going back to the Premier League, it's been a slowish time for you, would you say?
11:40Obviously two points first week, we're week five this week.
11:46I'd say I've probably threw a few points away.
11:50I would say that whether it's slow or whether it's not, Humphreys is really the only one that's really got a massive gap there.
11:58I think I've not even properly seen the table either.
12:01So I'm only speculating on that. But look, it's a marathon.
12:06It's not a sprint.
12:08We're only a quarter of the way through at the minute.
12:11A lot can happen in 12 weeks.
12:12So would I say, would I say that I was massively behind at the minute?
12:17No, not at all. We've still got time to make it up.
12:20Yeah, as you say, it's such a long campaign. It's 16 weeks before the finals right in London.
12:25So obviously you're very confident you're still going to get into the top four.
12:28Yeah, 100 percent. That's the plan.
12:30I think everyone comes in not to win the league.
12:32I think they just want to make top four, you know, realistically.
12:36If you was to come in and just offer four people top four, they'd all say yes or all late, you know.
12:41So yeah, being top's one thing.
12:45But going in there, going in there into that semis and that finals,
12:49what I've made before is a very special night at the O2.
12:52And that's when all them 16 weeks comes into one, you know.
12:56That's when, yeah, you can hit the top prize in the Premier League and win the Premier League.
13:01Yeah, well, you've almost done that.
13:02Obviously you're a runner-up at points. It's been not as good these recent years in the Premier League.
13:08Do you think, like obviously being world champion, is this the next big thing you could win?
13:13I think, obviously, yeah, I would say, yeah, the Premier League's the second highest event,
13:21but obviously not being ranking, you know.
13:24So, but he's without doubt the second biggest to the world championships, without doubt.
13:30Yeah, and kind of going back to the darts, kind of the fact that Littler's grown it so much,
13:36all the media and such, do you think it will carry on growing or do you think it'll run a plateau?
13:42I think I've been here eight years and darts has never stopped growing every year from what I've seen.
13:48And even before Littler, trust me, it grew every year.
13:52We see it every year and it kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger.
13:56So in that thing, in knowing it for the last eight years,
13:59I don't think it'll stop at the minute, at least. I can't really see it flattening out.
14:05I think the popularity for it is just too much at the minute
14:08and it just seems to be getting bigger and better, really.
14:12So I can't see it sort of flattening out anytime soon.
14:15Yeah, what do you think the next step is? Do you think it's bigger venues?
14:18Do you think it's bigger, have more exhibitions, more media, etc.?
14:24I'm not too sure. Obviously, we've had talks about maybe the World Championships moving.
14:31I don't believe it'll move, but look, there are iconic arenas, some of them,
14:35but it's not my real decision to sort of come up with them.
14:41We leave that to the PDC and I'll just rock up and I have to play darts for a living, you know.
14:45So yeah, I'm sure the PDC could answer that better with their plans.
14:50Quite a good gig, yeah. And finally for me,
14:55what is your target for the rest of the year? Is it to win the World Championships, win the match play,
14:59or is it just kind of go game by game?
15:01Don't get me wrong, I want to win another major,
15:03but I'm one of these people who just try and sort of, yeah, just look to the end of my nose
15:08because if I start looking at certain tournaments and setting targets in that tournament,
15:13for instance, nine months away, World Championships.
15:17If I want to win that World Championships, I've got to wait nine months to win it.
15:21So how many other tournaments could I potentially overlook in my head and sort of look too far?
15:28So I'm sort of, I'm one of these people,
15:30I'm in a moment for that time and I'll keep going every week
15:35and how I feel and play the game and try and win everything every week.
15:40But yeah, obviously in the long run, I'd love to win another world title,
15:44but nine months away, you couldn't overlook the rest of what's there at the minute.