WARNING, OFFENSIVE CONTENT Rob Cross was knocked out of the World Darts Championship in the second round, with the former champion appearing to make a lewd gesture towards the crowd
Former world champion Rob Cross could face punishment after seemingly making a lewd gesture following his Paddy Power PDC World Darts Championship defeat on Monday evening.
The fifth seed was knocked out of the tournament in the second round when defeated 3-1 by last year's semi-finalist Scott Williams, who will now face Germany's Ricardo Pietreczko in round three. And Cross, 34, appeared to lose his cool in the aftermath of the loss, which may see the Darts Regulation Authority take action.
Cross, who clinched the title in 2018 by outplaying Phil Taylor in the final match, bagged the first set against Williams at Alexandra Palace. However, the tide quickly turned in favour of his rival as Williams secured three consecutive sets, setting up a third-round clash with Ricardo Pietreczko.
Following his defeat, Cross glared at the crowd as he exited the Ally Pally stage. He then loosely held his right hand, lifted it to his face and swayed it side to side while poking out his cheek with his tongue in what may be deemed an obscene gesture, reports the Express.
The Sky Sports cameras captured the incident, which could land him in trouble with the darts authorities. Cross' early exit made him the 14th seed to be knocked out of the second round, a new record for this stage of the competition.
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Cross, from Hastings, took the first set against fellow Englishman Williams – a surprise participant in the last four 12 months ago – but 'Voltage' couldn't find the power to sustain his lead. Williams, 34, who is the current world no.34, captured the next three sets as the marathon evening session finished less than 20 minutes before midnight.
Williams, aka 'Shaggy', from Boston, was beaten by eventual champion Luke Humphries in last year's semi-finals. He was the last player to secure their spot in the last 32.
It wasn't the only notable defeat on Monday, as Dave Chisnall's dreams were dashed in a cringe-worthy blunder, when he celebrated a leg win prematurely.
He then went on to realise he'd left eight on the board. To make the situation worse, the 13th seed was sent packing from Alexandra Palace after a nail-biting 3-2 defeat to Ricky Evans.