Rob Cross beats Michael van Gerwen to win second European Championship

Rob Cross has won the 2021 European Championship courtesy of an 11-8 victory over Michael van Gerwen.

The 31-year-old entered the event having not won a major title for two years and having fallen down to 12th position in the PDC Order of Merit.

However, the 2018 world champion was a deserving winner, opening up a commanding 9-4 advantage before having to withstand some late pressure from his opponent.

Van Gerwen outscored Cross with regards to 180s, but the Englishman's 15 scores of 140 ultimately made the difference.

Earlier in the day, Cross had recorded victories over Jose de Sousa and Joe Cullen for the loss of just eight legs, and the extra rest proved crucial in the final.

Van Gerwen came through enthralling encounters with Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall, by scorelines of 10-8 and 11-10 respectively, to reach the final in Salzburg before eventually running out of steam.