World champion Rob Cross shines again in first round of Masters

It seems winning the PDC World Darts Championship has not gone to the head of Rob Cross, who wowed at the Unibet Masters in his first tournament outing since going all the way at Alexandra Palace.

Cross was a relative unknown to all but the most hardened darts fans a couple of months ago but edged out world number one Michael van Gerwen in the semi-final in a last-leg thriller before nervelessly thrashing 16-time champion Phil Taylor on his final World Championship appearance.

And it does not look like the 27-year-old will fade back into obscurity if his first match back is anything to go by, as he made light of a 167 checkout in the opening leg in a 10-3 demolition of world number 14 Ian White.

Cross is seeded third for this competition, which features only the top 16 players in the PDC Order of Merit.