'It's been a while' - Rob Cross delighted after ending PDC title drought at Baltic Sea Darts Open

Cross had endured a poor run in European Tour finals, winning just one of his last nine.

Nevertheless, Voltage scooped the £30,000 top prize on Sunday with a gutsy 8-6 win over the current World Champion.

Humphries displayed his class during the match with a nine-darter as he moved 5-3 up in the final, only for Cross to take five of the next six legs for glory at Kiel's Wunderino Arena.

Cross had edged out Masters champion Stephen Bunting 6-5 in a high-quality third round tie and needed a deciding leg to seal his comeback win over Ritchie Edhouse in the quarter-finals.

He then took out 156 and 126 during his 7-4 semi-final win over Madars Razma, booking a spot in a second European Tour final of 2024 - having seen Luke Littler land a nine-darter on his way to the Belgian Darts Open title in March.

This time, though, it was Cross who would emerge victorious following a high-quality final where the Hastings ace averaged 105.56 to Humphries' 104.38 to win his first ranking title in 50 weeks.

"To hit back-to-back 12-darters to win was great and I'm happy that I've won something - it's been a while!" said Cross, who defeated Humphries in the European Darts Grand Prix final last May.

"It's an amazing experience to come up and win something again. I've got a new regime at the minute and it's working. I feel much better, much fresher in the longer days and long may it continue."

Cross and Humphries have now contested four European Tour finals, with the latter taking two wins in 2022 before the Hastings star claimed glory in Sindelfingen last year.

"Me and Luke always have good games and I really enjoyed it," added Cross. "He's number one for a reason - he's the best player on the planet.

"I like playing Luke and he likes playing me - he's probably got the upper hand of late. He's got the world at his feet and we have a great friendship."

Photo Credit: Jonas Hunold/PDC Europe