Rob Cross was one of the main winners as the opening session of action at the 2023 Players Championship Finals heads shortly towards its conclusion in Minehead. He joins a trio of big names all through in a row.

Against Cameron Menzies, the Scot managed to keep up with the former world champion until 3-3, but a bad eighth leg broke him. ‘Cammy’ missed seven darts in that leg, allowing Cross to reach 5-3 via a 19-darter. Cross then decided the match with a 12-darter.

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Josh Rock cruised to a big win over Rowby-John Rodriguez. Through a 13-darter, two 14-darters and a 12-darter, ‘Rocky’ managed to grab a 5-2 lead against his Austrian opponent. However, the Northern Irishman then threw two bad legs, giving Rodriguez the opportunity to come back to 5-4. Rock finally pulled out the victory in the tenth leg with difficulty via double 1.

Stephen Bunting won over Mickey Mansell in the first round. By hitting 134 and 164, ‘The Bullet’ took a 5-2 lead. Mansell made it exciting by coming back to 5-4, but could not force another break. A 16-darter gave Bunting the win.

While Christian Kist had little fun on his return to the Players Championship Finals. ‘The Lipstick’ competed for the first time since 2017, but an injury threw a spanner in the works.

Kist was affected by a hand injury to his throwing arm leading up to this tournament. As a result, Kist threw an average of only 68 in his match against Ricardo Pietreczko. This allowed the German to easily win the match 6-1. It also adds fears for Kist ahead of his well-deserved Ally Pally return next month after averaging only 68 in Minehead.