Exclusive Interview with Rob Cross: No need to be jealous of ‘fantastic’ Luke Littler

In an exclusive interview with LuckyBlock.com, Rob Cross spoke about the astonishing impact that Luke Littler has had on darts over the last two months.

The former world champion also made predictions about his return to the Premier League and revealed his theories on why Peter Wright and Michael Smith’s form has plummeted.

Interview Highlights:

• ‘Fantastic’ Luke Littler has answers for every problem on the oche
• I’m buzzing for Premier League but wasn’t mentally ready last year
• Snakebite and Bully Boy will bounce back and shake off ropey form

No need to be jealous of ‘fantastic’ Luke Littler

Luke Littler is taking the world of darts by storm by winning the Bahrain Masters and reaching the finals of the World Championships and the Dutch Masters but Rob Cross only has admiration for what the 16-year-old has already achieved;

Rob Cross: “Every hurdle that he [Littler] comes across at the minute, he’s got the answers for. I think he’s fantastic, I really do. Has darts ever had that much reach before and after the World Championship before? He’s got a million followers on Instagram and he’s done it in 10 minutes. It’s absolutely amazing. Not forgetting that there’s no need to be jealous of this boy for what he’s achieving because every one of us dart players is going to benefit from it. More money goes into the game, there’s more injection of prize money and everyone will step up.”

I’m buzzing for Premier League and fear no one

After not being involved in the Premier League for two seasons, Voltage was selected for the 2024 edition off the back off a strong 2023 season and he can’t wait to get started with the first week in Cardiff on Thursday night;

Rob Cross: “I’m buzzing to play in the Premier League again and I want to be competitive. I want to win every week. That’s the difference. The hunger’s come back. Was I really 110 percent committed or mentally ready for it last year? I think it would have probably spent me for the year. I’m not really bothered about anyone else either. I can only worry about myself and it’s what I do, it’s not about what they do.”

Peter Wright took too much time off last year

Peter Wright had a poor 2023 season by his own high standards, culminating in an early exit from the World Championships at Alexandra Palace. Cross is a huge fan of ‘Snakebite’ but revealed his surprise at Wright’s choice to take so many holidays around major tournaments;

Rob Cross: Pete’s lovely, he’s always been good to me but I saw a change where he was going on holiday and having more time off. Obviously he failed to qualify for the Players Championship Finals because he didn’t accumulate enough on the Players Championships. I’ve never seen that before from him. He went on holiday and took maybe a little bit more than what maybe he should have in my opinion. I don’t think it’s burnout. I think he can get his head right and he’s a two time world champion for a reason.”

Michael Smith admitted to not practising

Michael Smith was dethroned by Chris Dobey in his attempt to retain his World Championship in December and Cross reckons ‘Bully Boy’ wasn’t at the peak of his powers due to a lack of practice and a lot of celebrating;

Rob Cross: “Mike said that he didn’t really practise. He really enjoyed being world champion and rightfully so. Knowing what I know now, I would have enjoyed it ten times more. But at the same time it’s hard because you have minimal days at home with your family. If you haven’t quite put enough practice in, for me anyway, I struggle sometimes just to find my form. I think it’s very tough with the calendar. He’ll be calming down this year, I think we’ll start to watch him come on and he’ll be back to where he was.”