Rob Cross Wins Players Championship 22 in Wigan 8-5
rob cross won Players Championship 22 in Wigan on Wednesday, beating Maik Kuivenhoven 8-5 in the final for his first title of 2026. The victory earned him £15,000 and moves him back into strong position for the World Matchplay in July.
Cross Seals Wigan Title
He closed the final with his third ton-plus average of the day and did it after spurning four match darts before recovering to finish the job. Cross posted a tournament average of 98.91 and won seven matches in a row to take the title at the Robin Park Leisure Centre.
Kuivenhoven pushed him to 8-5, but Cross kept control of the late stages and finished with the sharper scoring run. That gave him his 11th Players Championship crown and his first ranking title since the first Players Championship event of 2025.
Stephen Bunting And The Numbers
The route to the title was not soft. Cross beat Chris Landman 6-1 in his opening match, Jimmy van Schie 6-1 in his second, Connor Scutt 6-2, David Sharp 6-1 in the last 16 and Alexander Merkx 6-4 in the quarter-finals before overcoming Stephen Bunting to reach the final.
Against Bunting, he landed checkouts of 170, 127 and 130, then carried that edge into the final. He also said after the win: “I always thought I was going to win, and when I'm like that, usually I do win,” and added, “I've had my trials and tribulations. I've got a lot going on at the minute. If I can get the best out of my capabilities I believe I can win every day, but sometimes mentally it can hold you back.”
World Matchplay Push
The result matters beyond one title. Cross said, “Three months ago you look at the World Matchplay [race] and I'm out of it. I'm probably £15,000 adrift, but I managed to give myself a good kick up the backside.”
He followed that by saying, “I know the World Matchplay is around the corner, and I love the World Matchplay. It's all about results, and to win this today is very special for me.” That leaves him with momentum, prize money and a place that now looks much safer for July after a run that has extended his ProTour title streak to every year since 2020.
