Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross have enjoyed a competitive rivalry since the latter pushed the then all-conquering Dutchman at the 2016 UK Open, a time when Cross had only earned a place at the tournament as a Riley's qualifier. Cross went on to edge Van Gerwen in one of the sport's all-time great contests 21 months later at the 2018 World Championship, and the pair currently find themselves at the top of the PDC Order Of Merit. However, the quality went down several levels when they were given the opportunity - in association with Betway - to face each other in a game of virtual reality darts.
Regular computer game users will be familiar with the concept of competing in a sport using a headset and some are easier to replicate than others. It soon became apparent - though - that Van Gerwen and Cross would not have it easy with an imaginary dart in their hand. Successfully hitting a double within a certain timeframe appeared to be out of the question so a game of 301 or 501 was soon forgotten. It "simply" came down to which player could hit the highest score in nine darts, but it quickly transpired that it was who would hit the least lowest score would be declared the winner.
Both Van Gerwen and Cross are currently preparing for the 2019 PDC World Championship, which gets underway at the Alexandra Palace on December 13. An increase in participants and a change to the format means that the pair will both be given a bye through to the second round of the competition but given the form of the two players, they may have preferred the chance to sharpen their game against a lower-ranked opponent in the opening round. Van Gerwen has only won one of his last eight televised tournaments while Cross has not made it through to the last four of any competition in his last eight outings. This year's World Championship is as open as it has ever been, but the two top seeds will surely perform better than they did without their tried-and-trusted arrows in their hands.
Van Gerwen remains the pre-tournament favourite at betting odds of 5/4 and all things considered, that it an attractive price. However, Gary Anderson - on the same side of the draw as Van Gerwen - can be had at 7/2 and the Scot is in form having reached the final of the Grand Slam of Darts and semi-finals of the Players Championship Finals. Peter Wright is the third favourite and takes his place on the opposite side of the draw, meaning that his odds of 11/1 should be regarded as a no-brainer for an each-way bet.
