International - World Series of Darts Finals
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by Devesh Jaganath | in Darts Predictions
Friday's opening round at the 2025 World Series of Darts finals at the AFAS Live will draw to a close with Rob Cross facing off against Haupai Puha. The winner of this clash between Voltage and Hopes will face either Wessel Nijman or Michael van Gerwen in round two. Let’s get into the match prediction.
Rob Cross has experienced a mixed run of form in 2025, but enters the WSOD Finals as the number five seed. He was a beaten finalist in this competition back in 2020.
Voltage began the year impressively by winning the Dutch Darts Masters in January as well as the Players Championship 1 in February, though he has not won a Major tournament since.
Cross’s last match was in the second round of the European Tour this month, where he was beaten 6-3 by Nijman. He has now won six and lost four of his last 10 matches across all competitions.
Meanwhile, Haupai Puha is back in the World Series of Darts finals for a fourth consecutive year, though he has only got past the first round on one occasion (2023).
Hopes has not won a Major title this year, but he did produce a very impressive performance against Luke Littler at the Australian Darts Masters last month when he was beaten by just one leg.
Puha lost to Luke Woodhouse 6-3 at the PC27 event earlier this week, marking his eighth defeat in his last 10 matches across all competitions.
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Rob Cross - Haupai Puha Key Points
- Rob Cross has won two Major titles this year.
- Rob Cross is the number five seed in this competition.
- Rob Cross is ranked 88 places above Puha in the PDC Order of Merit.
- Rob Cross has won three of the four previous matches against this opponent.
- Haupai Puha has lost eight of his last 10 matches across all competitions.
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Our Rob Cross vs Haupai Puha Prediction
Rob Cross made an excellent start to 2025 by winning two major titles by February, but he has experienced a notable dip since then, while injuries have also contributed to his underwhelming form of late.
Haupai Puha notched up his first-ever victory over Voltage at the PC9 tournament in March, but he has struggled to find that level of performance lately, having only won two of his last 10 matches. We expect the New Zealander to put up a fight here, but fancy Cross to hold him off. Our Rob Cross vs Haupai Puha prediction is Rob Cross -1.5.
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All tips are fully researched and given in good faith, but profits cannot be guaranteed.
