2 weeks Ago
JOE Cullen snuck into the German Darts Grand Prix as the 16th and final seed, but his tournament came to an end at the hands of a familiar face. The Bradford thrower enjoyed a good start to the fourth European Tour event of the season, which took place over the Easter Weekend in Munich. He beat Mickey Mansell 6-2 in his last-32 match on Sunday, with what was a dominant performance.
The Wyke ace was excellent on the doubles, up at 66 per cent for the match, with Mansell unable to compete. Cullen played relatively well in his last-16 clash against teenage sensation Luke Littler too, but this time it was not enough. The Bradfordian averaged a shade under 96, but he could not compete with some sensational finishing from the 18-year-old.
Littler landed three ton-plus checkouts in the pair’s Monday afternoon encounter, including the notorious ‘Big Fish’ of 170. The teen beat Cullen 6-3 to move into the quarter-finals, where he was edged out Peter Wright 6-5. That put Littler into a semi-final against Gian van Veen, who Cullen beat in a Players Championship final earlier this year to claim a first PDC title since 2022.
On this occasion, van Veen made it an all-Dutch final with Michael van Gerwen by beating Littler 7-4. But van Gerwen’s experience won out on Monday evening, as he won the final 8-5. As for Cullen, he had a good time away from the oche in Munich alongside his close friend and fellow darts professional Jonny Clayton.
We could be the next big boy band...
😂 Thanks to @PDCEurope for a great day yesterday! Me and Jonny really enjoyed it. Ready to pick the darts back up this afternoon. See you later 🎸 @ModusDarts180 @Winmau @EmpireFightingC @WeekndOffender_ @TuffStuff_UK JPL pic.
twitter.com/XBF0PSsTtb The pair took part in a PDC Europe Media Day in the city, where they were donned some of the finest German Lederhosen. They also got to do a roof walk on the iconic Olympiastadion in Munich, which was the main venue for the 1972 Olympics, before it hosted the FIFA World Cup final two years later.
The last international game there saw England famously beat Germany 5-1 in 2001, while it is most renowned nowadays for hosting concerts. Taylor Swift and Coldplay both performed at the Olympiastadion last year, while Robbie Williams is pencilled in for a show there this July..
