Joe Cullen hails "great" World Matchplay loss to Gary Anderson

Joe Cullen has come a long way since defeat to Gary Anderson at the PDC World Matchplay.

Perhaps not in terms of achievement - though there's plenty of opportunities left in the last two months of the 2018 season. But Cullen, devastated after losing one of the best games in World Matchplay history, has been able to move on. The Rockstar bounced back after Anderson struck a nine-darter and looked set for victory. But an untimely intervention from a fly affected a match dart. Two of them went awry, and the Scot went on to win. In an interview with Live Darts, Cullen accentuated the positives.
"Looking back on it, it was a great match," Cullen said.
"At the time I was absolutely devastated but I've got over it now and it's put me in good stead.
"It's put me on the map, everyone knows I can do it on the stage for that amount of time so it can only be a good thing."
Cullen will have to recover again after meeting a similar fate in the European Championships. The Bradford ace missed his chance to beat Simon Whitlock and reach a first stage final, instead losing in a last-leg decider. But it's all good TV experience for Cullen. That's more important to him than seeing his name in the 15th spot on the PDC Order of Merit.
"The rankings aren't a big thing for me," Cullen said.
"If you perform well on the TV, the rankings speak for themselves.
"It's more about getting consistent on TV and pushing for things next year."