- Rob Cross lost 3-1 to Scott Williams in the second round at the Ally Pally
- Cross was seen making what appeared to be a rude gesture towards the crowd.
- The fifth seed won the first set of the match but then lost the next three.
Rob Cross has addressed the apparently obscene gesture he made during Monday’s shock loss to Scott Williams at the World Darts Championship.
2018 champion Rob Cross crashed out in the second round, losing to last year’s semi-finalist.
And much of the attention after the game focused on one moment rather than the upset itself.
Cross was seen making what appeared to be a rude gesture toward someone in the crowd as he walked offstage during a break in the play.
The Briton appeared to imitate a sexual act and everything was captured by Sky Sports cameras.
Cross has now broken his silence on both his defeat and the incident, writing on social media: “I am hugely disappointed to lose to my friend Scott Williams.” Good luck for the rest of the tournament.
WARNING: RUDE CONTENT
Rob Cross appeared to make a rude gesture during his shock loss to Scott Williams.
The former world champion insists that he did not want to offend anyone with the gesture
Cross won the first set but then lost the next three to last year’s semi-finalist.
‘I gestured to my manager about how upset I was with my performance. If I offended anyone, I apologize. Merry christmas.’
Williams overcame her odds to reach the semi-finals of the World Championships last year and will now face Germany’s Ricardo Pietreczko in the third round.
Speaking after her victory over Cross, she said: “It’s very difficult, because Rob is one of my closest friends,” Williams admitted after beating Cross.
“Neither of them were very good tonight, but Rob missed doubles and gave me an opportunity, so when you have opportunities, you have to take advantage of them.
“I’m always confident no matter who I play against, but now I’m looking forward to spending Christmas with the family.”
Before the tournament he said: ‘People have joked, calling me the Michael Bublé of darts because I only appear in October, November and December! In recent years, that’s true.
‘I want to try to change that next year by participating in a couple more TV events, just to take my game to the next level. It’s about finding consistency with my practice.’