I quit my job as an electrician to become a top darts star – now I’ve raked in £1.4million in career earnings
ROB CROSS changed his life forever in 2016 when he decided to give up his day job as an electrician to pursue his darts dream.
Despite being a talented player, Cross had given up the sport to take care of his wife Georgia and their three kids.
His uncle convinced him to put everything into qualifying for the UK Open, the FA Cup of darts, in early 2016.
And the result would be life-changing.
Cross, now 32, failed to qualify in South Benfleet, but managed to make the cut a week later after driving 170 miles from Hastings to Norwich for one final go.
He went on to reach the last 32 before falling respectably 9-5 to Michael van Gerwen – a result that convinced him he could compete at that level.
Giving up his day job, Cross embraced the grind of the PDC Unicorn Tour – earning a two-year tour card by finishing top of the order of merit.
He made his professional debut on February 3, 2017 in Wigan – and he never looked back.
The following year he went on to beat his hero Phil “The Power” Taylor 7-2 to lift the PDC World Championship.
Incredibly, starstruck Cross had his picture taken with Taylor only weeks earlier.
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He said ahead of the final: “I got a photo taken with him. It sounds sad now, doesn’t it? He did say to me, ‘You and me in the final at the worlds’. He is like Mystic Meg.
“I have watched Phil since I was a young boy around 12 when I fell in love with the game and we all watch Darts Gold. He is a true legend.”
Cross has since gone on to earn around £1.4million in prize money from the sport.
He beat Michael Smith to win the World Matchplay in 2019 and Gerwyn Price to triumph in the European Championship that same year.
His most recent major triumph came in 2021, when he beat Van Gerwen 11-8 to win a second European Championship.
Cross hasn’t totally forgotten his roots as an electrician, however.
He still goes by the nickname “Voltage” on the tour.