Latest news with #ChrisDobey
The Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Rob Cross wins first darts match since being banned as company director over £450k in unpaid tax
ROB CROSS won his first darts match since his financial woes were made public. The 2018 world champion has been disqualified as a director for five years – until June 2030 – after his company failed to pay more than £450,000 in tax. 1 The Insolvency Service found that the Premier League Darts star withdrew more than £300,000 from Rob Cross Darts Limited between March 2020 and November 2023 that should have gone to creditors, including to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The world No.9 also took out more than £400,000 from Rob Cross Darts Limited – which was set up eight years ago to receive his earnings and prize money – in the form of a director's loan account by the time the company went into liquidation. In an attempt to repay part of his debts, Cross has entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), a legally binding agreement where he has committed to making regular payments to an insolvency practitioner. Monthly contributions to the IVA will vary depending on the income he receives through his performances at darts tournaments during this year and future years. There is £30,000 available for the winner of this weekend's Nordic Darts Masters in Copenhagen and he began the event by beating Swedish thrower Andreas Harrysson 6-4 in round one. The world No.9 – who plays fellow Premier League star Chris Dobey in the quarter-finals on Saturday – says he spent Thursday walking round the Danish capital for '14-and-a-half miles'. Probably a chance to clear his head and get away from the news that was released by The Insolvency Service while he was away. Cross, 34, said: 'I've not picked up the darts for a while. 'I have had two-and-a-half weeks off. I had been a little bit lazy. I'll be better 100% in my next match. 'I didn't know where my game was at – I could have gone out there and hit 120 or a 48. Rob Cross follows Luke Humphries with stunning nine-darter 'Andreas is very dangerous and has played great. I am happy to get over the line and keep pushing. Tomorrow it has to come together. 'To win this would be fantastic. I have had time off and some difficulties. But it would mean a lot to win it this week. 'Tonight could have been tougher with a few boos and whistles, it could have swung the game in his favour. 'We all feel it when the darts are flowing and the crowd gets on your back. I'm very appreciative of that. Darts is tough. 'It has been nice to be here. The weather was better than I expected. I thought it was going to rain. It's a great place to go out and fill your lungs out with some air.' Cross famously won the PDC World Darts Championship in 2018 – he trounced the retiring Phil Taylor 7-2 in the final – on his debut appearance in the competition. His management team have declined to comment on the story.
Press and Journal
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Press and Journal
Gallery: Were you at the Premier League Darts in Aberdeen?
Darts fans made their annual pilgrimage to P&J Live to watch the best in the world in action. The PDC Premier League Darts served up another evening of classic entertainment with Stockport arrowsmith Nathan Aspinall boosting his play-off hopes by beating Chris Dobey 6-1 in the final. Earlier in the evening Gerwyn Price sent the crowd wild by hitting a nine-darter in his match against Stephen Bunting. Luke Littler defeated Luke Humphries 6-3 in a barnstorming affair before Littler's hopes of a win in Aberdeen were ended by finalist Dobey.
The Independent
16-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Luke Littler secures top seed spot for Premier League Darts finale
Nathan Aspinall beat Chris Dobey 6-1 to take victory on Night 15 of the Premier League in Aberdeen and close in on the play-offs, while world champion Luke Littler secured the top seed spot for the competition's finale at the O2 later this month. Aspinall – who coasted past Stephen Bunting 6-1 in the semi-finals – built on a couple of early breaks over Dobey to establish a solid lead. After Dobey, who knocked Littler out to reach the final, lost his throw again in the sixth leg, he then missed two more darts at a double in the next as Aspinall came back to land double 10. Aspinall's victory leaves him four points clear in fourth spot, eliminating Dobey, while Michael van Gerwen would need to win the final night in Sheffield to overhaul him. 'I felt very confident coming into tonight, I bottled it last week but tonight is a new night,' Aspinall said on Sky Sports. 'I've not played amazing tonight, but I have been composed. I've not celebrated, I've stayed in the moment and my finishing has been bang on.' Littler had earlier fought back to beat world number one Luke Humphries in their quarter-final to make sure of top seeding in London. Dobey, though, then produced another impressive display to lead the world champion 3-1 and 4-2 in their semi-final. While Littler again produced a late rally to force a last-leg decider, he missed double six for the match, leaving Dobey to take out 32. Littler's 6-3 quarter-final comeback win over Humphries was a high-quality affair. World number one Humphries had ended his 10-week wait for a Premier League nightly victory by edging out Littler in a last-leg decider in Leeds, and opened up in fine style with an early break to lead 2-0 then 3-1. Littler, though, came roaring back to win five legs on the bounce, finishing with a match average of almost 116 while Humphries hit nine maximums in defeat, averaging 110. Price had produced a nine-dart finish in his quarter-final defeat to Bunting. Welshman Price, already secure of a play-off spot, landed the perfect leg to reduce the deficit to 5-4. It was a second nine-dart finish for Price in this year's tournament, which has one more nightly event in Sheffield ahead of the play-offs at London's O2 on May 29. Having lost his opening eight games, former Masters champion Bunting was already out of contention to progress, but closed out a 6-4 victory over Price to make it through to the semi-finals. In the opening match at the P&J Live, Aspinall built on a fast start to see off Van Gerwen 6-3 and boost his own play-off hopes. Dobey landed five 180s and averaged 107 in a 6-2 victory over former world champion Rob Cross, who can now no longer reach the top four.
The Guardian
15-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Aspinall wins night 15 while Littler secures top seeding for Premier League playoffs
Nathan Aspinall beat Chris Dobey 6-1 to take victory on night 15 of the Premier League in Aberdeen and close in on the playoffs, while Gerwyn Price earlier hit a nine-dart finish and Luke Littler made sure of top spot at the O2. Aspinall – who coasted past Stephen Bunting 6-1 in the semi-finals – built on a couple of early breaks over Dobey to establish a solid lead. After Dobey, who knocked Littler out to reach the final, lost his throw again in the sixth leg, he then missed two more darts at a double in the next as Aspinall came back to land double 10. Aspinall's victory leaves him four points clear in fourth spot, eliminating Dobey, while Michael van Gerwen would need to win the final night in Sheffield to overhaul him. 'I felt very confident coming into tonight, I bottled it last week but tonight is a new night,' Aspinall said. 'I've not played amazing tonight, but I have been composed. I've not celebrated, I've stayed in the moment and my finishing has been bang on.' Littler had earlier fought back to beat the world No 1, Luke Humphries, in their quarter-final to make sure of top seeding in London. Dobey, though, then produced another impressive display to lead the world champion 3-1 and 4-2 in their semi-final. While Littler again produced a late rally to force a last-leg decider, he missed double six for the match, leaving Dobey to take out 32. Littler's 6-3 quarter-final comeback win over Humphries was a high quality affair. Humphries had ended his 10-week wait for a Premier League nightly victory by edging out Littler in a last-leg decider in Leeds, and opened up in fine style with an early break to lead 2-0 then 3-1. Littler, though, came roaring back to win five legs on the bounce, finishing with a match average of almost 116 while Humphries hit nine maximums in defeat, averaging 110. Price had produced a nine-dart finish in his quarter-final defeat to Bunting. Welshman Price, already secure of a playoff spot, landed the perfect leg to reduce the deficit to 5-4. It was a second nine-dart finish for Price in this year's tournament, which has one more nightly event in Sheffield before the playoffs at London's O2 on 29 May. Having lost his opening eight games, former Masters champion Bunting was already out of contention to progress, but closed out a 6-4 victory over Price to make it through to the semi-finals. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion In the opening match at the P&J Live, Aspinall built on a fast start to see off Van Gerwen 6-3 and boost his own playoff hopes. Dobey landed five 180s and averaged 107 in a 6-2 victory over former world champion Rob Cross, who can now no longer reach the top four.
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Nathan Aspinall wins in Aberdeen as Luke Littler secures spot as top seed
Nathan Aspinall beat Chris Dobey 6-1 to take victory on Night 15 of the Premier League in Aberdeen and close in on the play-offs, while Gerwyn Price earlier hit a nine-dart finish and Luke Littler made sure of top spot at the O2. Aspinall – who coasted past Stephen Bunting 6-1 in the semi-finals – built on a couple of early breaks over Dobey to establish a solid lead. After Dobey, who knocked Littler out to reach the final, lost his throw again in the sixth leg, he then missed two more darts at a double in the next as Aspinall came back to land double 10. Aspinall's victory leaves him four points clear in fourth spot, eliminating Dobey, while Michael van Gerwen would need to win the final night in Sheffield to overhaul him. 'I felt very confident coming into tonight, I bottled it last week but tonight is a new night,' Aspinall said on Sky Sports. 'I've not played amazing tonight, but I have been composed. I've not celebrated, I've stayed in the moment and my finishing has been bang on.' Littler had earlier fought back to beat world number one Luke Humphries in their quarter-final to make sure of top seeding in London. Dobey, though, then produced another impressive display to lead the world champion 3-1 and 4-2 in their semi-final. While Littler again produced a late rally to force a last-leg decider, he missed double six for the match, leaving Dobey to take out 32. Littler's 6-3 quarter-final comeback win over Humphries was a high-quality affair. World number one Humphries had ended his 10-week wait for a Premier League nightly victory by edging out Littler in a last-leg decider in Leeds, and opened up in fine style with an early break to lead 2-0 then 3-1. Littler, though, came roaring back to win five legs on the bounce, finishing with a match average of almost 116 while Humphries hit nine maximums in defeat, averaging 110. Price had produced a nine-dart finish in his quarter-final defeat to Bunting. Welshman Price, already secure of a play-off spot, landed the perfect leg to reduce the deficit to 5-4. It was a second nine-dart finish for Price in this year's tournament, which has one more nightly event in Sheffield ahead of the play-offs at London's O2 on May 29. Having lost his opening eight games, former Masters champion Bunting was already out of contention to progress, but closed out a 6-4 victory over Price to make it through to the semi-finals. In the opening match at the P&J Live, Aspinall built on a fast start to see off Van Gerwen 6-3 and boost his own play-off hopes. Dobey landed five 180s and averaged 107 in a 6-2 victory over former world champion Rob Cross, who can now no longer reach the top four.
