Bradford’s Joe Cullen joins star field in darts’ Premier League

The 32-year-old, from Bradford, claimed big-stage glory for the first time with a superb 11-9 victory over Dave Chisnall in the Masters final at Milton Keynes on Sunday and was confirmed as a member of the eight-player Premier League.

The weekly tournament involves the world’s top-eight players and is played over 17 nights from February 3 to May 26.

Cullen is joined in a star field by Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright, Michael van Gerwen, James Wade, Michael Smith, Gary Anderson and Jonny Clayton. He will compete on home territory twice, when the event visits Leeds’ First Direct Arena on April 7 and the Utilita Arena in Sheffield five weeks later.

Cullen collected a £60,000 first prize for his Masters win, but had never previously appeared in a televised final.

He beat van Gerwen 10-7 in the last eight and reached the decider with an 11-8 semi-final victory over Jose de Sousa.

After missing 10 darts for the title, Cullen eventually secured the biggest win of his career by hitting double-18.

Cullen’s mother died only three months ago and he was joined by his father on stage for the victory celebrations.

“I’ve dreamed of this moment for a long time,” said Cullen. “I felt like I was going to win it at the start of the day, so to actually get over the line feels amazing. It’s bitter-sweet. I’d love my mum to have been here to see me do it, but life’s not always fair.

“I miss my mum dearly so that’s definitely for her. It was special to have my dad here.”

Cullen had led 10-7, but the winning double proved elusive and Chisnall won successive legs to pile on the pressure. Victory in the 2021 Masters sparked a run of four TV titles for Jonny Clayton, and Cullen is hoping to emulate that success.

“It’s a foot on the ladder and something a lot of players higher ranked than me haven’t done,” he added.

“Hopefully this is the first of many. I’ve proved I can do it on TV and it’s even more pleasing because I played well.”