Michael Smith vs Rob Cross predictions: Voltage can put Smith's lights out
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- Michael Smith has reached the quarter-finals for just the fourth time since 2012
- Rob Cross beat Smith to lift the Matchplay trophy in 2019
- Recommended bet: Rob Cross to win
Rob Cross and Michael Smith meet in a heavyweight all-English clash at the Winter Gardens on Friday in a repeat of the 2019 final.
Cross took the honours back then, winning 18-13 and he will be confident of repeating that success after producing a pair of ton-plus averages to see off Gian van Veen and Ryan Searle.
But Bully Boy will have the crowd on his side and having blitzed Gary Anderson and showed resolve to fend off Chris Dobey, Smith is optimistic he can go on to a third semi-final.
The stats
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This is Smith's 12th visit to the Matchplay and just the fourth time he has made the quarter-finals.
Cross was one of only two players — Luke Humphries the other — to produce 100-plus averages in rounds one and two.
Cross hit 15 180s over the first two rounds — only Ross Smith (16) hit more.
This is only the second time Cross has gone beyond round two in eight attempts.
Cross boasts a 20-6 head-to-head advantage over his last-eight opponent.
Prediction
Cross went to the Winter Gardens somewhat under the radar despite a decent 2024 so far, but he is rightly being talked about now and could yet have more to come.
Voltage heads into his eagerly-awaited last-eight dust-up with one-time World Cup team-mate Smith off a pair of excellent efforts to beat Van Veen and Searle.
He is scoring well — he averaged 100.4 in his 13-12 win against Van Veen and almost 107 in his 11-6 win over Searle — and demonstrated plenty of bottle beating the Dutch ace in a tiebreak.
He is scoring heavily with 15 180s and is finishing sublimely with 52% checkouts. He is a proven major winner with his victory in Blackpool five years ago one of his four major crowns.
He has won twice this year — one on the European Tour, the other in the World Series — and boasts a fantastic head-to-head record over Smith, who he beat in their only previous meeting in Blackpool, the 2019 final.
Smith has performed in bursts this week, which pretty much sums up his season. He was devastating for a period against Anderson in round one though the Scot struggled.
He also allowed Dobey back into their second-round tie, eventually sneaking home 11-9.
Smith at his best is hard to stop, but he is not at his best and any show of inconsistency will be punished by Cross, who looks ruthless.
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