Rob Cross puts Luke Littler and Luke Humphries on notice with £1m refusal

Rob Cross remains hell-bent on seizing the World No. 1 spot in darts, despite a staggering financial gulf between himself and Luke Litter and Luke Humphries in the PDC's Order of Merit. The 35-year-old stormed to World Championship glory during his debut appearance in 2018, before clinching the 2019 World Matchplay Championship and a pair of European Championship crowns.

Yet 'Voltage' trails considerably behind Littler and Humphries, whose Order of Merit prize money dwarfs his own by more than threefold. Humphries continues to reign supreme at the summit of the PDC rankings with earnings of £1,684,750, whilst Littler sits hot on his heels with £1,545,500. Despite this, Cross, who occupies seventh-place with £509,750, remains unfazed by the duo of global darting phenomenons.

He is also convinced he can bridge the enormous divide between himself and the England World Cup pair, beginning with this week's World Grand Prix. In conversation with SportsBoom, when quizzed about the significance of holding the world's top ranking, Cross delivered a cutting response.

He said: "I think the only thing that matters in the game is getting to number one, and if you can't be number one, then what's the point? You're just making the numbers up, aren't you?

"That number one...it's sort of crucial. It's important. It's the biggest thing. But that number one, it does matter. You could be eight, you could be ten, you could be 15, who cares?

"You are not the best at your trade. So go in there, work a little bit harder, get what you want. It's just a number. It's a kettle market unless you're number one."

When pressed on whether he believes he can topple the two Lukes, he responded: "Yeah, I still think so. I keep paying all these people to sort me head out, and there's no one there, so they can't sort it out.

"I'm sure I'll keep trying, but look, I always try. I'll go out there, I'll wear my heart on my sleeve. I'm my own kryptonite really sometimes because I can put a lot on myself like I did tonight."

Cross progressed to the next stage of the World Grand Prix after a commanding performance against Wessel Nijman. Despite not managing a 180, Cross defeated Nijman in the distinctive double in, double out format by posting a remarkable 53 per cent success rate on his doubles - while also recording an average of 81.73.

Elsewhere, Humphries successfully navigated his own challenging fixture by defeating Nathan Aspinall 2-0. 'Cool Hand Luke' delivered a strong showing against 'the Asp', who managed a 170 checkout in the second game.