| Joe Cullen | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_by_Sandro_Halank%25E2%2580%2593053.jpg) Cullen at the2022 Premier League Darts | |||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Nickname | "The Rockstar" | ||||||||||
| Born | (1989-07-13)13 July 1989 (age 36) Bradford, England | ||||||||||
| Darts information | |||||||||||
| Playing darts since | 2006 | ||||||||||
| Darts | 21g Winmau Signature | ||||||||||
| Laterality | Right-handed | ||||||||||
| Walk-on music | "Don't Look Back in Anger" byOasis with intro to "Layla" byDerek and the Dominos | ||||||||||
| Organisation (seesplit in darts) | |||||||||||
| PDC | 2008– (Tour Card: 2011–) | ||||||||||
| Current world ranking | (PDC) 32 (23 November 2025)[1] | ||||||||||
| PDC premier events – best performances | |||||||||||
| World Championship | Last 16:2021,2023,2024 | ||||||||||
| World Matchplay | Semi-final:2023 | ||||||||||
| World Grand Prix | Semi-final:2023 | ||||||||||
| UK Open | Quarter-final:2016 | ||||||||||
| Grand Slam | Quarter-final:2022 | ||||||||||
| European Championship | Semi-final:2018,2021 | ||||||||||
| Premier League | Runner-up:2022 | ||||||||||
| PC Finals | Quarter-final:2020,2022 | ||||||||||
| Masters | Winner (1):2022 | ||||||||||
| World Series Finals | Quarter-final:2016,2022 | ||||||||||
| Other tournament wins | |||||||||||
European Tour Events (x3)
Players Championships (x9)
| |||||||||||
Joseph Cullen (born 13 July 1989) is an English professionaldarts player who competes inProfessional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently rankedworld number thirty-one. APDC Tour Card holder since 2011, Cullen won his first PDC major title at the2022 Masters, and finished as runner-up in the2022 Premier League Darts. Cullen has won 12 PDC ranking titles in his professional career, including threeEuropean Tour titles.
In his youth career, Cullen won threePDC Youth Tour titles in2011.
Cullen first came to prominence in 2008 when he qualified for theUK Open.[2] He defeated Mark Stapleton andDennis Smith beforeChris Mason defeated him in the last 64. Following his performances atBolton, he joined the PDC circuit. He also reached the final of the New Kids on the Oche tournament, losing toArron Monk.
Cullen had another decent run at the2010 UK Open. He knocked out Darren Latham and Mike Nott before losing toMervyn King, again in the last 64. Later that year, he defeatedPhil Taylor in the last 16 of the John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic inKillarney, eventually losing in the quarter-finals toColin Osborne.[3]
Cullen qualified for his firstPDC World Darts Championship in2011. He lost narrowly toTerry Jenkins 3–2 in sets in the first round. In April, Cullen reached his first PDC Pro Tour final at the sixth UK Open Qualifier inBarnsley, losing 6–1 to Taylor.[4]
Cullen reached the final of the PDPA World Championship Qualifier, where he was beaten byArron Monk 5–3.[5] The result meant that he qualified for the preliminary round of the2012 World Championship, where he beatOliver Ferenc 4–2 in legs.[6] He played the 10th seedTerry Jenkins in the first round for the second successive year and was beaten 3–0, winning just three legs in the match.[7][8] In April, he earned a place in theAustrian Darts Open by defeating Sam Hill andJohn Bowles in the UK qualifier.[9] He playedBrendan Dolan in the first round and won 6–4,[10] and then continued his run by beatingSimon Whitlock 6–4, despite his opponent hitting anine darter.[11] Cullen defeatedMark Walsh to make the quarter-finals, where he was this time on the wrong end of a 6–4 scoreline as he lost to eventual winnerJustin Pipe.[12] Cullen's best result of the season came a week after this as he won through to the semi-finals of the finalUK Open Qualifier, but was then whitewashed 6–0 by Pipe.[13][14] He also qualified for the third European Tour event, theEuropean Darts Open and beat Jenkins 6–1 in the first round inDüsseldorf, before losing to Johnny Haines 6–5 in round two.[15]
Cullen reached the last 16 of theUK Open with victories overJim Walker (9–4) andColin Lloyd (9–8),[16] but then let a 4–0 and 5–1 lead againstJamie Caven slip to lose 9–8.[17] He qualified for theWorld Matchplay for the first time and lost to Pipe 10–4 in the first round.[18]
Cullen qualified for the2013 World Championship by finishing 36th on the 2012 ProTour Order of Merit,[19] claiming the fifth of sixteen spots that were available for the highest non-qualified players.[20] He lost 3–0 toJohn Part in the first round, with the Canadian's superior finishing being the difference between the players.[21] Cullen was ranked world number 41 after the tournament.[22] He lost 9–5 to Lee Palfreyman in the third round of theUK Open.[23] At theAustrian Darts Open Cullen beatKim Huybrechts 6–4 and then averaged a stunning 111.84three-dart average in seeing offStuart Kellett 6–1.[24] He reached the quarter-finals of this event for the second year running by surviving onematch dart fromRaymond van Barneveld to win 6–5, but was then beaten 6–0 byMervyn King.[25] Cullen reached three other quarter-finals in floor events during the year but lost in each one.[26]
Cullen qualified for the2014 World Championship through theProTour Order of Merit once again and facedPeter Wright in the first round.[27][28] Cullen took out a 147 finish to level the opening set with Wright on 12 but lost the decider and also lost the final leg in the second set and was beaten 3–0.[29] He missed out on playing in theUK Open for the first time in his career as he failed to advance beyond the last 128 in any of the six qualifiers.[30] At the 11thPlayers Championship of the year he reached the semi-finals of a ranking PDC event for the first in over two years, where he was defeated 6–3 byGary Anderson.[31] Cullen won through to the same stage of the 16th event with impressive victories overDave Chisnall,Andy Hamilton andMichael van Gerwen, but this time lost 6–3 toBrendan Dolan.[32]
Cullen lost 3–1 to reigning championMichael van Gerwen in the first round of the2015 World Championship, after every set had gone to a deciding leg which included Cullen missing two darts for the second set.[33] He was knocked out in the third round of theUK Open 9–6 by Eddie Dootson.[34] Cullen lost in the quarter-finals of the firstPlayers Championship 6–0 toDave Chisnall and had to wait until October for another one. It came at theEuropean Darts Grand Prix after he saw offAntonio Alcinas 6–3, Chisnall 6–2 and then averaged an outstanding 110.16 in defeatingRaymond van Barneveld 6–2.[35] However, in the quarters he lost 6–4 toMensur Suljović.[36] Cullen's third and final quarter-final of 2015 was at the 19th Players Championship after he oustedRonnie Baxter,Ian White,Jamie Caven andSteve West, before losing 6–4 toStephen Bunting.[37]
He took the final qualifying spot from the Pro Tour Order of Merit for the2016 World Championship, but lost in the opening round for the sixth year in a row as he won just two legs during a 3–0 defeat toJelle Klaasen.[38][39] At theUK Open Cullen beatMark Frost 9–1,Alan Norris 9–6 andStephen Bunting 9–7 to play in his first major quarter-final.[40] He produced a fightback from 9–3 down toPeter Wright, but would lose 10–7.[41] This began a rich vein in form for Cullen as he reached the semi-finals of the firstPlayers Championship event (lost 6–3 to Wright) and the same stage of theGerman Darts Masters (lost 6–1 toMichael van Gerwen after whitewashing reigning world championGary Anderson 6–0 in the quarters).[42][43]
Cullen's second ever PDC final came at the ninth Players Championship, but he was thrashed 6–0 byBenito van de Pas.[44] Another came at the 11th event and he was left waiting for his first professional title asIan White won 6–3.[45] Cullen qualified for theWorld Matchplay for the first time in four years and lost 10–5 to Wright in the opening round.[46] Cullen made his debut at theWorld Grand Prix and he won the first set againstSimon Whitlock, before losing six of the next seven legs to bow out.[47] After seeing offChris Dobey 6–2 at theEuropean Championship he was heavily beaten 10–3 byPhil Taylor in the second round.[48] A 13 dart leg from Cullen saw him squeeze past Anderson in to the quarter-finals of the non-rankingWorld Series of Darts Finals, where he lost to Wright in a televised match for the third time in 2016, this time 10–7.[49] Cullen eased pastSteve Brown 6–1 andRowby-John Rodriguez 6–0 at thePlayers Championship Finals, butRaymond van Barneveld knocked him out 10–2 in the third round.[50]
After breaking into the top 32 on the Order of Merit during 2016, it meant Cullen was a seeded player at theWorld Championship for the first time in his career. He beatCorey Cadby 3–1 to finally reach the second round of the tournament at the seventh time of asking, but went on to lose 4–0 to two-time winner of the eventAdrian Lewis in the next round.[51][52][53]
Cullen joined theProfessional Dart Players Association's 9 Dart Club for the first time, after getting anine-dart finish in the second round of the2017 PDC Players Championship 4 againstJim Brown.[54][55][56]
Cullen claimed his firstPDC Pro Tour title in April at the eighthPlayers Championship.[57] He was 4–1 up in the final, beforeDaryl Gurney squared the match at 5–5. Gurney missed one match dart and Cullen won on double four and said afterwards that he had relied on his natural talent in the past, but in the last year he had also been working very hard on his game.[58] A week after withdrawing from his third round match at theEuropean Darts Open due to his father suffering a heart attack, he earned his second PDC title at Players Championship 16 by defeatingZoran Lerchbacher 6–4 in the final. He dedicated the victory to his father, stating: "He'd be proud of me. Hopefully he's on the mend now, he's back home and obviously things are looking up so I wanted to do it for him."[59]
Cullen was the 19th seed at the2018 World Championship but suffered a first-round 3–2 defeat toJermaine Wattimena, missing four match darts in the process.[60] At theWorld Matchplay in July, he achieved his first win at the event with a 10–3 triumph overGerwyn Price,[61] before another wide victory in the second round againstDaryl Gurney, defeating the fifth seed 11–3.[62] This set up a quarter-final clash withGary Anderson. After missing darts to send the contest to asudden death leg, Cullen was beaten by Anderson 19–17.[63] Cullen reached his first major semi-final at theEuropean Championship by eliminating reigning world championRob Cross. He led his semi-final match againstSimon Whitlock 10–7 but after missing a match dart, he allowed Whitlock to come back and win 11–10.[64]
Cullen won theopening Players Championship event of the2021 PDC Pro Tour season. He defeatedGabriel Clemens in the quarter-finals andNathan Aspinall in the semi-finals, before beatingJonny Clayton 8–7 in the final.[65] He won a second title atPlayers Championship 13 by defeating world championGerwyn Price 8–6 in the final.[66] Cullen was a semi-finalist at theEuropean Championship in October, beatingMensur Suljović 10–7 in the quarter-finals before losing to eventual championRob Cross 11–3 in the semi-finals.[67]
_by_Sandro_Halank%25E2%2580%2593117.jpg)
Entering the2022 PDC World Darts Championship ranked 13th in the world, Cullen defeatedJim Williams 3–2 in the second round before losing 3–4 to debutantMartijn Kleermaker in the third round.[68] On 30 January 2022, Cullen won a first televised PDC title when he won the2022 Masters.[69] Cullen defeatedDaryl Gurney,Gary Anderson 10–1 with an average of 106.30,Michael van Gerwen andJosé de Sousa en route to the final.[70] Despite missing ten match darts, he defeatedDave Chisnall 11–9 to secure his first televised PDC title.[69]
Cullen joined theProfessional Dart Players Association's 9 Dart Club for the second time, after getting anine-dart finish in the third round of the2022 PDC Players Championship 5 againstJames Wilson.[54][71][72]
Cullen competed in his debut season in the Premier League in 2022; he finished 4th in the table and qualified for finals night on the last night of league play, by defeating Peter Wright in his final match. On 13 June, at finals night in Berlin, Cullen defeated Jonny Clayton 10–4 in the semi-finals to secure a place in the final against Michael van Gerwen, which he lost 11–10 after missing a match dart.
Cullen made it to the fourth round of the2023 PDC World Darts Championship. He was knocked out by the eventual winnerMichael Smith.[73][74]
Cullen reached back-to-back ranking major semi-finals at theWorld Matchplay and theWorld Grand Prix. His run to his firstWorld Matchplay semi-final included a 13–11 win over tournament favouriteGerwyn Price in the second round.[75] He defeatedDaryl Gurney 16–11 to progress to the last four, where he facedNathan Aspinall.[76] Cullen was beaten 17–9.[77] He also reached his maidenWorld Grand Prix semi-final after wins againstMike De Decker,Ross Smith andChris Dobey.[78] He was eliminated following a 4–0 defeat toLuke Humphries.[79]
Cullen reached the fourth round of the2024 World Championship, where he faced Luke Humphries. Tied at 3–3 in sets, Cullen missed two darts at double 18 to win the match. The winner was decided in a sudden death leg, with Humphries hitting double 10 to win the final set 6–5 in legs and eliminate Cullen in a dramatic 4–3 victory.[80]
Cullen reached two ranking finals during the year. He was the runner-up at theAustrian Darts Open, losing the final 8–4 toLuke Littler.[81] He also reached the final atPlayers Championship 17 but he was beaten 8–6 byJosh Rock.[82] His best performance at a major event during the year was a quarter-final at theWorld Grand Prix.[83]
Cullen qualified for the2025 PDC World Darts Championship as the number 23 seed, receiving abye to the second round due to his placement in the top 32, where hewhitewashedWessel Nijman 3–0 in sets. Following the victory, Cullen caused controversy for his post-match interview and press conference. He gave noticeably short answers in his interview withSky Sports before prematurely leaving his press conference, citing a lack of respect shown to him by the media andbookmakers.[84][85] He lost toGerwyn Price in asudden death leg in the third round.[86] Cullen had trailed 3–0 but won the next three sets to level the match at 3–3 to force the last-set decider. The match was described as a "thriller" and an "Alexandra Palace classic".[87][88][89]
He reached the final at theopening Players Championship event of the2025 PDC Pro Tour season. His run to the final included wins against reigning World ChampionLuke Littler, 6–3 in the last 32,[90] and world number oneLuke Humphries, 7–6 in the semi-finals. Cullen lost toRob Cross 8–3 in the final.[91] He was able to win his first PDC title since 2022 atPlayers Championship 5, coming back from 7–4 down and surviving six missed match darts from opponentGian van Veen to win the final 8–7.[92][93] He won a second title atPlayers Championship 27 by defeating Gerwyn Price 8–7 in the final.[94]
Cullen originally worked as a postman but quit his job to focus on darts full-time.[95]
Cullen is a supporter of rugby league clubWigan Warriors,[96] and conducted the draw for theChallenge Cup in2024 alongside Michael Smith.[97] He is also a supporter of English football clubManchester United.[98]
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score[N 1] | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2022 | Masters |  Dave Chisnall | 11–9 (l) | [99] |
| Runner-up | 1. | 2022 | Premier League |  Michael van Gerwen | 10–11 (l) | [100] |
| Tournament | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDC Ranked televised events | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PDC World Championship | Did not qualify | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 4R | 3R | 4R | 4R | 3R | ||||||||
| PDC World Masters[N 2] | Not held | Did not qualify | QF | 1R | 2R | W | 1R | 2R | 1R | |||||||||||||||
| UK Open | 3R | 1R | 3R | 4R | 5R | 3R | DNQ | 3R | QF | 5R | 3R | 4R | 5R | 4R | 4R | 6R | 4R | 4R | ||||||
| World Matchplay | Did not qualify | 1R | Did not qualify | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | SF | 2R | 1R | |||||||||||
| World Grand Prix | Did not qualify | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | 2R | SF | QF | 2R | |||||||||||||
| European Championship | Did not qualify | 2R | 1R | SF | 2R | 1R | SF | 1R | 1R | 1R | DNQ | |||||||||||||
| Grand Slam of Darts | Did not qualify | RR | 2R | QF | Did not qualify | |||||||||||||||||||
| Players Championship Finals | NH | Did not qualify | 3R | 1R | 3R | 2R | QF | 1R | QF | 2R | 1R | 1R | ||||||||||||
| PDC Non-ranked televised events | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Premier League Darts | Did not participate | F | Did not participate | |||||||||||||||||||||
| World Series of Darts Finals | Not held | DNQ | QF | DNQ | 1R | DNP | QF | DNP | 1R | |||||||||||||||
| PDC World Youth Championship | Not held | 3R | 2R | Did not participate | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season-end ranking | 267 | 118 | 61 | 48 | 41 | 37 | 44 | 48 | 28 | 19 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 23 | |||||||
PDC European Tour
| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | ADO QF | GDC DNP | EDO 2R | GDM DNQ | DDM DNQ | |||||||||
| 2013 | UKM DNQ | EDT 2R | EDO DNQ | ADO QF | GDT 1R | GDC DNQ | GDM DNQ | DDM 2R | ||||||
| 2014 | GDC DNQ | DDM 3R | GDM DNQ | ADO DNQ | GDT DNQ | EDO DNQ | EDG 2R | EDT DNQ | ||||||
| 2015 | GDC 1R | GDT DNQ | GDM DNQ | DDM 1R | IDO DNQ | EDO 2R | EDT DNQ | EDM DNQ | EDG QF | |||||
| 2016 | DDM DNQ | GDM SF | GDT 2R | EDM 1R | ADO DNQ | EDO DNQ | IDO 2R | EDT 3R | EDG 3R | GDC QF | ||||
| 2017 | GDC 3R | GDM 2R | GDO 3R | EDG QF | GDT 2R | EDM QF | ADO SF | EDO 3R | DDM 3R | GDG 3R | IDO SF | EDT QF | ||
| 2018 | EDO QF | GDG QF | GDO QF | ADO SF | EDG QF | DDM 2R | GDT 3R | DDO QF | EDM 3R | GDC SF | DDC QF | IDO 3R | EDT 2R | |
| 2019 | EDO 3R | GDC 3R | GDG QF | GDO 3R | ADO 2R | EDG 2R | DDM 2R | DDO QF | CDO 2R | ADC 3R | EDM W | IDO 3R | GDT 3R | |
| 2020 | BDC 2R | GDC 3R | EDG 3R | IDO W | ||||||||||
| 2021 | HDT QF | GDT 3R | ||||||||||||
| 2022 | IDO 3R | GDC 3R | GDG 2R | ADO QF | EDO 3R | CDO 2R | EDG 2R | DDC 2R | EDM 2R | HDT W | GDO SF | BDO 3R | GDT 3R | |
| 2023 | BSD 3R | EDO 2R | IDO 2R | GDG SF | ADO QF | DDC 2R | BDO 2R | CDO 2R | EDG 3R | EDM SF | GDO 2R | HDT 3R | GDC 3R | |
| 2024 | BDO 3R | GDG 3R | IDO 2R | EDG 1R | ADO F | BSD 3R | DDC 1R | EDO 1R | GDC 3R | FDT 2R | HDT 1R | SDT 1R | CDO 1R | |
| 2025 | BDO DNQ | EDT 1R | IDO 2R | GDG 3R | ADO 3R | EDG 2R | DDC 1R | EDO 1R | BSD 1R | FDT 2R | CDO 1R | HDT 2R | SDT 2R | GDC 1R |
PDC Players Championships
| Performance Table Legend | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Won the tournament | F | Finalist | SF | Semifinalist | QF | Quarterfinalist | #R RR Prel. | Lost in # round Round-robin Preliminary round | DQ | Disqualified |
| DNQ | Did not qualify | DNP | Did not participate | WD | Withdrew | NH | Tournament not held | NYF | Not yet founded | ||