Joe Cullen sensationally stormed out of his post-match press conference, declaring he’d been ‘shown no respect’ by the media or oddsmakers.
In his first match of the tournament, Cullen whitewashed Dutch talent Wessel Nijman 3-0 to progress into the third round of the PDC World Darts Championship.
PDCCullen got his World Darts Championship campaign off to a winning start[/caption]
Despite having made the fourth round of darts’ most iconic event in three of the past four years, a poor 2024 by Cullen’s lofty standards had some favouring Nijman to produce an upset.
However, the No. 23 seed evidently used the doubt as motivation to produce a scintillating display of darts.
Cullen averaged an impressive three-dart average of 98.18 across the match and threw eight 180s.
He was also more clinical on the doubles, finishing with a checkout percentage of 40.9 per cent to Nijman’s 28.6 per cent.
Upon nailing the winning checkout, Cullen looked ready to explode with emotion and celebrate wildly.
But the Bradford native quickly composed himself as he shook hands with Nijman and the officials.
However, Cullen let loose in his press conference where he appeared to cut off a reporter before delivering one final response.
“Honestly, the media attention that Wessel has got,” Cullen said.
“Again, this is not a reflection on him. He seems like a fantastic kid. He’s been caught up in a few things beforehand but he served his time, he held his hands up like a lot haven’t.
“I think the way I’ve been treated with the media and things like that, I know you guys have no control over the bookies.
Darts NowCullen felt he’d been ‘shown no respect’ by the media or bookmakers and stormed out of his press conference[/caption]
“I’ve been shown no respect, so I won’t be showing any respect to any of you guys tonight. I’m going to go home, cheers.”
Cullen then got up from the table and stormed out.
As to Cullen’s claim Nijman was ‘caught up in a few things’, he was referencing the Dutchman’s five-year ban for matchfixing.
Nijman was found guilty of fixing a match during the Modus Icons of Darts at Home series in October 2020.
Luckily for the 24-year-old, he had two-and-a-half years of his ban suspended after he agreed to engage in player education and anti-corruption measures.
Cullen’s bizarre press conference scenes followed his rather abrupt post-match interview with Sky Sports’ Abigail Davies on stage.
Sky SportsCullen was in no mood to talk after his win over Nijman[/caption]
In total, Cullen used just 23 words to answer Davies’ three questions before exiting.
When quizzed if he felt his darts did the talking, Cullen replied: “I did.”
Davies then asked if Cullen had put his performance down to any extra work behind the scenes.
“No, not really,” Cullen responded.
I’ve been here all week. Threw my first darts yesterday for the best part of a week.”
Davies then wrapped up the interview with one final question, asking if it was the best Cullen felt on a big stage for some time.
PDCFans let their feelings be known over Cullen’s conduct in the interview[/caption]
Cullen replied: “No.”
Darts fans weren’t exactly fans of Cullen’s conduct during the interview.
One fan wrote on X: “Awful behaviour.”
Another said: “What’s Joe Cullen’s problem? Think he might regret that interview. Will overshadow a great performance. Shame.”
One posted: “Who took the jam out of Joe Cullen’s doughnut?”
Another added: “Joe Cullen’s interview was fairly rude. No need, really.”
The tasks don’t get any easier for Cullen as he faces former world champion Gerwyn Price in the third round.
Price progressed to the third round thanks to a 3-0 win over Keane Barry on Monday.