Rob Cross, David Chisnall Crash Out in Early PDC Shocks

Rob Cross became the 14th seeded player to exit early from the PDC World Darts Championship, losing 3-1 to Scott Williams in the second round. Cross, the 2018 champion won the opening set but struggled to maintain form, marking his third second-round defeat. Williams will face Germany’s Ricardo Pietreczko, who ousted world youth champion Gian van Veen with a 3-1 win, boasting an impressive 55.6% checkout success. David Chisnall, the sixth seed also bowed out after a dramatic 3-2 loss to Ricky Evans.

Despite forcing a deciding leg, Chisnall’s miscalculation on a crucial checkout proved costly. Evans ranked 46th in the PDC Order of Merit advances to face unseeded Robert Owen after the Christmas break. Reflecting on the support from the crowd, Evans humorously remarked, “I don’t get this reception in my household.” Welsh number seven seed Jonny Clayton narrowly avoided a similar fate, needing a sudden-death leg to edge past Mickey Mansell 3-2.

Clayton trailed in the fifth set after two high checkouts from Mansell but rallied to win three consecutive legs before eventually sealing victory on double five. He will play Northern Ireland’s Daryl Gurney in round three after Gurney’s own final-set victory over Florian Hempel. Elsewhere, Josh Rock eased past Rhys Griffin 3-0, Andrew Gilding beat Martin Lukeman 3-1 and Krzysztof Ratajski secured a 3-1 win over Alexis Toylo.

With shock exits by former champions Michael Smith and Gary Anderson, Clayton and others in the remaining draw are eyeing deeper runs as the tournament resumes after Christmas.

Top seeds eliminated from the 2025 PDC World Championship:

• Michael Smith (2)
• Rob Cross (5)
• Dave Chisnall (6)
• Danny Noppert (13)
• Gary Anderson (14)
• James Wade (16)
• Ross Smith (19)
• Martin Schindler (23)
• Mike De Decker (24)
• Dirk van Duijvenbode (25)
• Gabriel Clemens (27)
• Gian van Veen (28)
• Ritchie Edhouse (29)
• Raymond van Barneveld (32)