German Darts Grand Prix: Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross both survive scares to reach third round
- Sean Fisher
- 18 April 2022
In the second round of the German Darts Grand Prix, Van Gerwen fought off Chris Dobey and Rob Cross defied Karel Sedlacek to set up a blockbuster clash on Monday.
Van Gerwen and Rob Cross have enjoyed some dramatic matches of late, and their latest clash will come on Monday when the duo meet in the German Darts Grand Prix.
Both were in action at Munich on Sunday evening, and were made to dig deep to reach the round of 16, where they'll now face each other.
World No.3 Van Gerwen faced Chris Dobey, and despite trailing 3-1 and then 5-3 to the 31-year-old, the Dutchman clawed his way back into contention and forced a decider with a remarkable 11-dart leg.
A checkout of 93 in the decider sealed victory for Van Gerwen, who won the tournament in three successive years between 2017-2019.
Cross also fell to an early deficit, and found himself 2-0 down before he started to hit form.
The world No.10 eventually came back to win 6-3 against Czech player Karel Sedlacek, but Cross did miss 21 doubles en-route to his victory.
ππ₯π’π¦π¦ πͺππ‘π¦! β‘
β PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 17, 2022
Rob Cross proves to be too much for Karel Sedlacek as the European Champion completes a 6-3 victory!
ππ₯ π£πππ© π Dirk van Duijvenbode v Boris Krcmar
πππ©ππ π https://t.co/YyBPPwoMK8 pic.twitter.com/WX0UUzp8ET
With the pair now looking forward to a huge clash on Monday afternoon, Van Gerwen spoke highly of his upcoming opponent, labelling him a "phenomenal player".
"You need to do really well if you want to beat him - but I feel good, I feel confident," Van Gerwen added
"To win games like this gives you a lot of energy, and that's really important. There is still a lot of work to do but to start off the tournament like this means a lot.
"Chris had a couple of really good finishes to make it difficult, but there can only be one winner and I'm really glad that's me.
"That was probably a match I would have lost last year but I've got confidence now. The crowds are back and this is what we want."
π π©π πππ‘πππ¦ ππ’πππ¬ π’
β Live Darts (@livedarts) April 17, 2022
Michael van Gerwen recovers from 5-3 down and survives two missed match darts from Chris Dobey to seal a 6-5 victory with a 105.5 average!#GDGP22 pic.twitter.com/Q4TfDSZIMY
Elsewhere, Scott Waites booked his spot in the last 16 after beating World No.1 Peter Wright in a 6-5 thriller, while Jonny Clayton also progressed by beating Dave Chisnall 6-2, hitting an impressive 102 average along the way.
Michael Smith will also feature in the round of 16 against Luke Humphries, after the World Championship finalist held on to win 6-4 against Berry van Peer.
