Rob Cross has apologised for the gesture he made during his loss to pal Scott Williams on Monday - as he hopes to avoid punishment from the Darts Regulation Authority.
The 2018 world champion was dumped out of this year’s World Darts Championship in the second round as he became another big name to be eliminated early from the competition.
Cross fell to a 3-1 loss to Williams, becoming the 14th seeded player to have already been knocked out, following the likes of Michael Smith, Dave Chisnall, James Wade, Gian van Even and Raymond van Barneveld.
But Cross, 34, could be in hot water after appearing to imitate a sexual act during his defeat - a gesture caught live on camera during Sky Sports’ coverage.
Cross has now broken his silence on both his defeat and that moment, taking to social media to declare: “Massively disappointed to lose out to my friend Scott Williams. Good luck to him for the rest of the tournament.
“I made a gesture to my manager about how annoyed I was with my performance. If it offended anyone, I apologise. Merry Christmas.”
Williams is now set to take on Germany's Ricardo Pietreczko in the third round and he is feeling confident about his chances. "It's so tough, because Rob is one of my closest friends," Williams admitted after beating Cross.
"Neither of us were great tonight, but Rob missed doubles and gave me a chance, so when you get given opportunities, you've got to take it. I'm always confident, regardless of who I'm playing, but I'm just looking forward to having Christmas with the family now."
Williams was a semi-finalist 12 months ago, before losing to eventual winner Luke Humphries. And certainly, he saves his best performances for the major events.
He said pre-tournament: "People have joked, calling me the Michael Buble of darts because I only turn up in October, November and December! Over the last couple of years, that is about right.
"I want to try and change that next year by getting into a couple more TV events, just to take my game to the next level. It's about finding consistency with my practice.”
