US Darts Masters: Gary Anderson Defeats Rob Cross To Land The Title In Las Vegas

Gary Anderson US Darts

The Flying Scotsman, Gary Anderson, returned to his winning ways this past weekend after winning his sixth World Series of Darts crown in the US Darts Masters final against Rob Cross. Taking place on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Casino & Resort in Las Vegas, the World number two produced a superb comeback to win 8-4 win over Cross.

Anderson’s road to the title

Anderson, a two-time world champion, showcased his undoubted class with a series of determined performances as he took the title, his first ever win in Vegas. The performance came as he cast aside DJ Sayre easily before moving on to the Canadian youngster Dawson Murschell, who he vanquished in a 8-5 quarter-final win, despite trailing 3-2 early on.

He came up against James ‘The Machine’ Wade — who had earlier beat Michael van Gerwen 8-3 — in the semi-finals in a match that went all the way to a deciding leg despite Wade leading 6-2 at one point. Anderson hit back to level before edging 7-6 ahead only to miss double ten for a 140 checkout and with it, the win. He didn’t need to wait long, which followed shortly after he bagged a 75 to nick the win and move into the final.

Once in the final, World champion Rob ‘Voltage’ Cross soon laid claim to a 3-0 lead, which turned into 4-1. Anderson, however, jumped on the opportunities Cross’ missed doubles presented him, and in a run of seven legs, he leveled and overtook his rival before storming to victory, with a stunning 164 checkout.

Cross’ route to the final was also a tricky one, meeting both Michael Smith and Peter Wright on Saturday’s final day. Smith was dismissed for 8-6, with the pair each landing seven maximums, while Peter Wright was shot down 8-3 in the semi-finals.

The eight PDC stars all now relocate to China ahead of the next World Series of Darts event, the Shanghai Darts Masters, on July 13-14. At the time of writing, no prices have been updated in the sportsbook of the online bookmakers Betway.

2018 World Matchplay

The full draw for the biggest darts event of the summer has been made. The 2018 World Matchplay takes place at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool from July 21-29.

Last year Phil Taylor marked his final appearance on his declared favourite stage with a 16th World Matchplay title, beating Michael van Gerwen in the process. This year, MVG is the favourite to overcome the 32-player field and claim the now-renamed Phil Taylor Trophy.

That said, the likes of Rob Cross, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright and Michael Smith will all have something to say about that. Below we have listed the first round, with the 16 seeded players paired with the 16 qualifiers from the one-year ProTour Order of Merit.

  • Michael van Gerwen v Jeffrey de Zwaan
  • (16) Adrian Lewis v James Wilson
  • (8) Dave Chisnall v Keegan Brown
  • (9) Michael Smith v Jonny Clayton
  • (5) Daryl Gurney v Steve West
  • (12) Gerwyn Price v Joe Cullen
  • (4) Gary Anderson v Stephen Bunting
  • (13) Raymond van Barneveld v Kyle Anderson
  • Peter Wright v Jelle Klaasen
  • (15) Kim Huybrechts v John Henderson
  • (7) Simon Whitlock v Richard North
  • (10) James Wade v Jermaine Wattimena
  • (6) Mensur Suljovic v Steve Beaton
  • (11) Ian White v Max Hopp
  • Rob Cross v Mervyn King
  • (14) Darren Webster v Steve Lennon