Rob Cross delivered a brutal assessment of Martin Schindler after sealing a 6-4 victory at the Flanders Darts Trophy, claiming his opponent lacked the bottle to mount a comeback. The win sends 'Voltage' into the final day in Antwerp, where he will face James Wade, but it was his post-match comments that stole the headlines.
Schindler's early exit saw his hopes of qualifying for the World Grand Prix in Leicester fade away. The German, once a regular qualifier for the double-start tournament thanks to his European Tour form, has seen that form 'massively dovetailed off', with Niko Springer now flying the flag for a nation that once looked likely to be the next glut of darting dominance. Cross did not hold back when asked about the match. "Yeah, of course. I had like a middle spell; Martin couldn't do anything, and I suppose for me, I actually thought I was the aggressor in the game, you know. I missed so many darts at a double in a couple of legs, and I'm just saying to myself, 'Look, he's not going to pick himself up; he's just what he is, and he's, yeah, I'm glad to win, but usually it's a better game,'" said Cross post-match.
While not exactly enamoured by his own display, Cross was glad to show his bottle and said that if only Schindler had any himself, it might have been a completely different game. Asked whether the World Grand Prix spot was playing on his mind, Cross suggested Schindler may have buckled under the pressure and that he now doesn't need to concern himself with that, moving into the final day happy in the knowledge that he is through. "Yeah, well, it is what it is, and a half-decent leg, a steady leg. Martin's scoring went to nowhere, and I just showed my minerals from there, you know. I get my head in front. I had 12 last legs, so all good things for tomorrow, but I'm really glad that probably Martin's got no bottle, you know, so I'm really appreciative about that, so yeah, that's what allowed me to win," Cross added.
Cross continued his scathing assessment, saying: "You know, it's a lot of pressure, and that's why he maybe s*** himself like that, so yeah, I don't know, but I'm just glad I'm through to tomorrow, and that's all I can really say on it, so thank you." For Schindler, a big few months await, and not qualifying for Leicester is the first issue for him as he aims to recapture the former glories that saw him lead the Pro Tour for a long time as the top player outside of the big names. But now he hasn't even got into the double-start-format tournament.
