ROB CROSS produced a terrific display as he edged past Vincent van der Voort 6-5 in a thrilling second round clash at the European Darts Grand Prix in Sindelfingen on Saturday.
The reigning World Champion was made to work hard for the win by Van der Voort, who showed he is back to his best in Friday’s 6-4 triumph over Steve Lennon, which saw the Dutchman produce a 103.4 average.
Cross, who is gearing up to play in the Unibet Premier League Play-Offs at The O2 on May 17, threw eight perfect darts in the seventh leg of their titanic clash as the wait for a nine-dart finish on the European Tour goes on.
Van der Voort battled from 5-2 down to level the game at 5-5 to set up a tense deciding leg, but Cross held his nerve to fire in a match-winning 12-darter.
Cross will now face James Wade in round three as the final day of action takes place at the Glaspalast in Sindelfingen on Sunday.
Wade, who is enjoying a return to form in 2018, booked his place in the last 16 with a comfortable 6-2 win over John Henderson.
Peter Wright was the stand-out performer on day two of the fifth European Tour event of the year as he threw a stunning 110.29 average en route to a 6-2 victory over Kirk Shepherd.
Second seed Wright produced four maximums and hit six doubles from ten attempts and will now meet Danny Noppert in round three.
Paul Nicholson reached the last 16 of a PDC ranking event for the first time in over a year thanks to his 6-4 win over Mervyn King.
Nicholson, who played in a final on the Glaspalast stage in 2013 against Wes Newton, showed his battling qualities to record his biggest win over the year.
The former Players Championship Finals winner will look to continue his impressive run in Sindelfingen on Sunday afternoon as he comes up against Jamie Lewis.
Lewis fought hard to record an impressive 6-4 win over Premier League star Daryl Gurney, producing a key break of throw in the penultimate leg of the match to go 5-4 up before sealing his passage into round three.
Ian White opened the afternoon session with a comfortable 6-1 win over Latvia’s Madars Razma and he will now face Dave Chisnall in round three.
Chisnall had to fight back from 4-1 down to eventually grind out a 6-5 win over Matt Padgett, who was playing in his first European Tour event in over four years.
Jermaine Wattimena weathered an early storm as he came back from 3-0 down in an all-Dutch affair with Jelle Klaasen, and he will now meet Premier League star Michael Smith in round three.
World number one Michael van Gerwen produced a business-like display as he eased past Alan Tabern 6-2, and the Dutchman will now face Darren Webster on Sunday afternoon.
Webster hit a stunning 136 checkout in his 6-3 win over Host Nation Qualifier Robert Marijanović to end the last hope of a home winner this weekend.
Joe Cullen silenced the home crowd in a thrilling 6-5 win over Martin Schindler, and will now come up against Kyle Anderson after the Australian's win over Kim Huybrechts.
Simon Whitlock produced the only whitewash of the day with his 6-0 win over Jan Dekker, and the Australian will now face Mensur Suljovic, who was a narrow 6-5 winner over Jamie Caven.
The European Darts Grand Prix will conclude on Sunday, with the afternoon session's third round followed in the evening session by the decisive quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.
The European Darts Grand Prix will be broadcast throughout the weekend for PDCTV-HD Subscribers, and through a series of bookmakers' websites worldwide.
2018 European Darts Grand Prix
Saturday May 5
Second Round
Afternoon Session
Ian White 6-1 Madars Razma
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Matt Padgett
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Jelle Klaasen
Joe Cullen 6-5 Martin Schindler
Danny Noppert 6-5 Gerwyn Price
Michael Smith 6-5 Arron Monk
Kyle Anderson 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
Simon Whitlock 6-0 Jan Dekker
Evening Session
Jamie Lewis 6-4 Daryl Gurney
Darren Webster 6-3 Robert Marijanovic
Paul Nicholson 6-4 Mervyn King
Mensur Suljovic 6-5 Jamie Caven
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Alan Tabern
Peter Wright 6-2 Kirk Shepherd
James Wade 6-4 John Henderson
Rob Cross 6-5 Vincent van der Voort
Format
All games up to and including the quarter-finals are the best of 11 legs, with the semi-finals the best of 13 legs and the final the best of 15 legs.
Sunday's games played in Draw Bracket order
Watch Online
PDC European Tour events can be watched online by all PDCTV-HD Subscribers worldwide - click here to visit PDCTV-HD.
Live coverage with faster streams may also be available at the following bookmakers' websites:
bet365 - www.bet365.com - Worldwide
Bet90 - www.bet90.com - Brazil, Germany
Betfair - www.betfair.com - Brazil, Denmark, England, Ireland, Northern ireland, Scotland, Spain, Wales
Betfred - www.betfred.com - England, Ireland, Northern ireland, Scotland, Wales
bwin - www.bwin.com - Worldwide
Fonbet - www.fonbet.com - Armenia, Belarus, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Russian federation, Ukraine
Ligastavok - www.ligastavok.ru/ - Russia
Marathonbet - www.betmarathon.com - Belarus, Russian federation, Spain, Ukraine
Napoleonbet - www.en-gb.sports.napoleongames.be - Belgium
Nike - www.nike.sk - Slovakia
Olimp - www.betolimp.com - Kazakhstan, Russian federation
Paddy Power - www.paddypower.com/ - England, Ireland, Northern ireland, Scotland, Wales
Stoiximan - www.stoiximan.gr - Cyprus, Greece, Romania
Superbet - www.superbet.ro/ - Romania, Poland
Tempobet - www.tempobet.org - Europe
Totogaming - www.totogaming.am/en/ - Armenia
Tipsport - www.tipsport.cz - Czech Republic & Slovakia
Unibet - www.unibet.com - Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, United Kingdom
William Hill - www.williamhill.com - Great Britain, Ireland, Spain
Winlinebet - www.winlinebet.ru - Russia
World Sports Betting - www.worldsportsbetting.co.za - Namibia, South Africa