Rob Cross has become the first PDC player in history to lose to an Asian representative at the Bahrain Darts Masters after a 6-3 defeat to Paolo Nebrida.
Rob Cross Makes Unwanted History After Bahrain Darts Masters Exit
The 2018 PDC World Champion made history by becoming the first PDC player to lose in the opening round of the Bahrain Darts Masters and made a poor start to his 2025 campaign.
His opponent, Paolo Nebrida, started the match superbly by breaking Cross’ throw in the opening leg and then holding his own to take a 2-0 lead.
The world number four managed to pull the third leg back but his inaccuracy on the doubles would come back to bite him later on.
Each player managed to hold their throw in the following sets, meaning the score at at 5-3 and Nebrida broke Cross’ throw once again to win the match.
The quality on display was not up to the standards that were seen at the PDC World Championship, with Cross averaging 86.3 and Nebrida just behind on 82.37.
Nebrida has made a habit of beating British players in recent months, as he defeated Jim Williams and Ross Smith at the World Championships.
The Philippine player was eliminated by Jeffrey de Graaf in the following round, but is starting to make a name for himself in the world of darts.
As for Cross, this defeat may not come as a surprise to some fans after a run of disappointing performances – including a 3-1 defeat to Scott Williams.
Ranking fourth in the PDC Order of Merit, Cross automatically qualified for this years Premier League campaign alongside Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Nathan Aspinall, Gerwyn Price, Michael van Gerwen, Stephen Bunting and Chris Dobey.
He is a huge underdog on UK betting sites, which could be down to his poor form and the fact he has never appeared in the Premier League finals.
