Scott Williams will face Rob Cross at the World Darts Championship (Image: Getty)
Darts star Scott Williams caused controversy at last year’s PDC World Darts Championship. The 34-year-old is set to face former world champion Rob Cross on Monday, but Williams during his last spell at Alexandra Palace.
Williams set up his second-round tie with Cross after defeating German thrower Niko Springer on Thursday. ‘Shaggy’ lost the opening set but responded well to produce a 3-1 victory and progress in the .
The world no.37 made a surprise run to the semi-finals last year, earning an upset victory over Michael van Gerwen in the process. However, it was Williams’ comments after his enthralling third-round clash that forced Sky Sports to apologise to viewers.
“I’ve never had the crowd on my side like that. I know we won two World Wars and one World Cup but that was… the German fans in here were huge,” shortly after his 4-3 win over Schindler.
The broadcast company later apologised for Williams’ use of ‘offensive language’. Following the incident, ‘Shaggy’ issued a message of his own before his fourth-round win over Damon Heta.
“I was advised to come off social media, just X, what I said in the last interview on stage was stupid, genuinely stupid. The guys from Germany know I love Germany,” . “My deepest apologies to anyone who took offence, I have had a lot of messages from people who haven’t taken offence, but that has gone now and I am looking forward to Monday.”
Scott Williams and Rob Cross have met in the competition before (Image: Getty)
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Despite his mistake, Williams had begun building a fanbase at Ally Pally, having pulled off a ‘no-look’ 180 and attempted to karate chop a wasp on stage during his semi-final run. Williams repeated his 180-party trick against Springer on Thursday.
The 34-year-old will also feel a sense of deja vu about facing Cross in the second round on Monday. The pair met at the same stage in December 2022, with Cross winning 3-1.
Since last year’s World Championship, Williams has reached the fourth round of the UK Open and quarter-finals of the Players Championship Finals. Meanwhile, Cross has demonstrated consistency by reaching the quarters in four of the six subsequent ranked events.