I’ve faced Luke Littler and Phil Taylor but neither are toughest opponent I’ve ever played

Rob Cross has urged fans to not get carried away when praising Luke Littler, saying Michael van Gerwen is his toughest opponent to date.

Cross will face Littler in the last 16 of the PDC World Darts Championship after beating Damon Heta on Sunday.

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It will be their second meeting at Alexandra Palace, the most noteworthy a semi-final clash two years ago.

On that occasion, Littler won 6-2 as he reached the final on debut before losing to Luke Humphries.

Cross himself made it to the final on his first appearance at Ally Pally back in 2018.

The 35-year-old saw off Van Gerwen in the semi-final before a victory over 16-time world champion Phil Taylor in the final.

Cross’ toughest opponent

Following his win over Heta, Cross was asked what the difference is between playing Van Gerwen at his peak and Littler.

Cross told reporters: “I’m not going to put the young man down, but when Michael was in his pomp, it wouldn’t have been a runaway.

“I tip my hat. Best player I’ve ever played has been Michael. Best player I’ve played from the other (era) was Phil Taylor in the final because he is the GOAT to me.

“At the same time, Michael’s expressed that he isn’t the player that he was and I think everyone understands that. I don’t even want to talk about him, you’ve put me on the subject now haven’t you.

“If you put Michael at his best, or around what he did for a three to four-year period, I still think you’d sit there and be a bit crazy if you told me Littler won every time.

“It’s not like we haven’t seen this stuff before. I remember when I was 15 and I watched Taylor, he won everything. He had no competition but he was class.

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“Then you had Michael when it got a little bit better and everything was better and in his pomp he managed to magic stuff out of the sky.

“Now we’ve got Humphries as well, put him in there I think he’s fantastic.

“The Littler effect and everything we’re seeing now, I don’t think it’s like we’ve not seen it before. We’ve seen people rule the game and cement their legacy and history.

“Who is to say that in another two or three years, that you don’t get another one? I think we’re very short-sighted if we didn’t see another one.”

Littler and Humphries have established themselves as the dominant forces in the sport in recent years.

Meanwhile, the former is currently on a 16-match winning streak dating back to Players Championship 34 on October 30.

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His unbeaten run has included clinching both the Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals.

In reaching the last 16 at Ally Pally, the 18-year-old has also now lost just once in 16 matches at the PDC World Darts Championship.