Hastings darts star aims to help raise £1million for Prostate Cancer UK at PDC World Championship

2018 champion Cross, known as ‘Voltage’ has thrown his support behind a lifesaving charity partnership between Prostate Cancer UK, the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and Paddy Power.

During the must-see festive sporting spectacular, in which Prostate Cancer UK will be official charity partners, ‘The Big 180’ will see the charity earn £1,000 for every 180 thrown by players at the Paddy Power World Championship between December 15 and January 3,

2024.

Cross, 33, is also competing to win the Ballon d’Art trophy for the most maximums – and the most money raised. With 901 maximums scored in last year’s tournament, it’s possible that £1 million could be donated to Prostate Cancer UK this year.

Cross makes his tournament bow on Thursday afternoon against Frenchman Thibault Tricole, while before a dart was thrown on Wednesday, 163 180s had been scored netting the charity £163,000.

1 in 8 men will be affected with prostate cancer; its most common cancer in men. Prostate cancer is curable if caught early, but early-stage prostate cancer often has no symptoms, so it is vital that men know their risk. Men are at higher risk if they are over 50, Black or have a father or brother who has had prostate cancer.

By working alongside Paddy Power and the PDC, Prostate Cancer UK continue to raise awareness in the darts community and are encouraging 180,000 men across the country to use its 30-second online risk checker during the tournament to help them understand their risk and what they can do about it.

And in the build-up to the tournament, Cross and his fellow players joined a star-studded cast inan insightful video promoting the charity’s risk checker. You can watch it here

Cross said: “This is a fantastic campaign and I know me and the players will be aiming to hit as many 180s as possible, as we always do. In recent years the figures have been going up so it will be exciting if we can get up to 1,000, which would be £1m. Thanks very much to Paddy Power for their support in that.

“I know a bit about the disease as it's something an older family member had. He’s better now but was very secretive about it. 1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer so it's important we continue to raise awareness of it.

“People love the darts; everybody goes mad for it. I think by having this campaign a lot more people will become aware. Prostate Cancer UK have their online risk checker, which only takes 30 seconds. They are looking at getting 180,000 people to get checked which is absolutely huge. People getting checked and understanding their risk of the disease is so important, so I’m proud to support.”

Prostate Cancer UK Chief Executive Laura Kerby said: "We are thrilled to become the official charity partner of the Paddy Power World Darts Championship and thank Paddy Power and the PDC for uniting the darts community as we target this disease head on.

“Prostate cancer is curable if caught early, but early-stage prostate cancer often has no symptoms, so it is vital that men across the UK, know their risk – and we hope 180,000 fans will do that during the tournament via our simple online risk checker.

“This iconic tournament is a sporting staple across the festive period, and The BIG 180 will put us at the heart of the action. It will be a complete gamechanger for men and their loved ones affected by prostate cancer - one maximum at a time.”

All money raised throughout the Paddy Power World Darts Championship will fund lifesaving research to diagnose men sooner and improve the lives of men affected by the most common cancer in men.

It takes 30 seconds to answer three questions to check your prostate cancer risk. Do it now by clicking on the following link: prostatecanceruk.org/180-risk