What's behind ex-world darts champion's 11th-hour withdrawal amid Littler boycott?

After Rob Cross pulled out of the Dutch Darts Championship, at the last minute, there were speculations as to what led to the former Darts champion exiting.

Cross, 36, was all set to face Ricardo Pietreczko or Heine Uuldriks in his first match on Saturday, October 17, 2026, but all of a sudden he was replaced by Brendan Dolan.

The 2018 World Darts Championship title holder announced his exit on social media, where he also apologised to darts fans before heading back to England.

Cross, also known as Voltage, while sharing a post on his Instagram handle, wrote, “I had just arrived in Maastricht. But unfortunately I’ve had to pull out of the tournament and return back home due to personal reasons.”

“Apologies to the PDC Europe and all the fans,” he added.

Cross’ sudden exit comes amid Littler, 19, continuing to boycott competitions in the Netherlands over the response he receives from fans.

For context, the world No. 1 is often heckled in Holland, where the frosty reception peaked at the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam.

Littler had hinted last month, saying, “If the Dutch stay like this, then I’m not going to do any Euro Tours over there.”

“There’s just no point in me travelling, wasting my time whilst I’m getting booed,” he warned.

However, despite his 11th-hour exit from the darts championship, he is expected to return for the European Championship scheduled next week in Dortmund, Germany.