"It's been a tough couple of months" - Joe Cullen puts off the board issues to the side with stunning performance in opening round of World Matchplay

Joe Cullen has made an excellent start to the 2024 World Matchplay. 'The Rockstar,' who reached the semifinals in Blackpool last year, comfortably defeated Northern Irishman Brendan Dolan 10-4 in his opening match on Sunday.

Cullen immediately impressed in his opening match, posting a 100+ average in his win against Dolan. "I couldn't be happier really!" The Englishman reflected post-match. "I've had a tough couple of months, so to come here and put a performance like that in on probably the biggest stage in darts, I'm really proud of myself."

As he mentioned, things haven't been going well for Cullen of late. Now though, 'The Rockstar' will be hoping this performance can spark a return to form at just the right time of year. "It's just been tough. I think there's a lot of players that have things going on away from darts and there is more to life than darts you know. If I lost tonight, no problem. I go home tomorrow, there's no issue but yeah, it's been it's been a tough couple of months," Cullen explains. "I'm sort of, one of the lucky ones with our family. So it's been tough, but we're coming out the other end of it now."

Cullen will take on the winner of the standout first round tie between Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen in the next round. "I have nothing to prove. I've done well here and I've done well at most of the tournaments so we'll see on Wednesday you know," Cullen assesses. "Whoever it will be, I think it's going to be a tough game. But, if I play like I can and I play like I did tonight, then it's going to be a tough game for them as well."

Littler and Van Gerwen take on each other tonight in a match that everyone is looking forward to. In the same evening session, Gary Anderson versus Michael Smith is another absolute top match.