Rob Cross humiliated at US Masters as Stephen Bunting also exits

Defending champion Rob Cross and top seed Stephen Bunting were dumped out of the US Masters in New York at the first hurdle.

Cross was unable to convert his limited checkout chances at Madison Square Garden as he was whitewashed 6-0 by US number one Danny Lauby.

Bunting, who beat Cross in the Nordic Masters final earlier this month, was unable to recover from losing the third leg against the darts as he was beaten 6-4 by Jason Brandon.

Luke Littler and Luke Humphries both booked their place in the last eight of the tournament, which pits eight PDC stars against top players from North America.

Littler cruised past Jules van Dongen 6-1 with a 92.16 average, while Humphries topped that with a 93.92 as he won the last three legs to beat Stowe Buntz 6-4 and book a meeting with Lauby.

Twice champion Michael van Gerwen eased through on his return to competitive action with a 6-1 win over Leonard Gates, averaging 99.63 in the process, while 2019 winner Nathan Aspinall beat Canadian number one Matt Campbell 6-2 with a 104.68 average. He faces Littler in the last eight.

Van Gerwen will meet Gerwyn Price who also topped three figures, averaging 102.47 in a 6-2 win over Adam Sevada while Damon Heta beat Jim Long 6-1 to book a clash with Brandon.