"I've been rubbish and I've still had a better year than him": Joe Cullen baffled about being written off against Bradley Brooks

Joe Cullen admitted the World Darts Championship continues to bring something out of him that he struggles to find elsewhere, after producing a high‑quality performance to defeat Bradley Brooks and book his place in the next round at Alexandra Palace.

Cullen averaged over 99 for the match and hit a blistering 112‑plus average in the second set, as he leaned on his experience and a familiar sense of being written off to dismantle a dangerous opponent who arrived with plenty of momentum behind him on returning to the PDC World Darts Championship.

“I’m happy,” Cullen said to the media including DartsNews. “I’m happy with the performance. I’m all‑round happy. It was a good performance, finished well, scored well – I can’t ask for much more, to be honest. Bradley Brooks was quite a tough draw on paper.”

That word – paper – was key to Cullen’s mindset heading into the contest. While Brooks has enjoyed what Cullen described as his best year to date, the former Masters champion felt his own struggles over the season masked a deeper truth about experience and big‑stage pedigree.

“Paper’s the key word there,” Cullen explained. “Bradley’s had a good year, he’s played well, probably his best year to date. But I’ve been rubbish and I’ve still had a better year than him, so make of that what you will. That was a bit of motivation there.”

Another source of motivation came when Cullen discovered, via his son, that Brooks had been installed as the bookmakers’ favourite.

“I didn’t realise at the time that he was favourite,” Cullen said. “My son told me – he said, ‘How’s Bradley Brooks favourite for the game?’ On a ProTour I’d expect that. I think Bradley would be favourite, 100 per cent. But not on that stage. Something comes into me. I’m just itching to do well on that stage.”

Despite the statistics, Cullen was quick to dismiss the idea that his game has suddenly clicked into place after an inconsistent year. “No,” he said when asked if his game was in a good spot. “I’ve been terrible all year, but this is where it matters. You see so many people miss out on Premier League spots. They’ve won tournaments earlier in the year, but there’s a recency bias. If you do well here, this is what everyone remembers.

“You can get announced out as a Grand Slam champion or a Grand Prix champion, but there’s nothing quite like being announced out as a World Champion.”

Cullen will next face either David Cameron or Mensur Suljović, though he insisted his preparation would remain largely unchanged. “I’ll wait until he wins and then I’ll prepare differently,” he said. “Mensur plays very differently to what David Cameron does. But if I play well, I’ll be tough to beat. I won’t be preparing any differently than I did today.”

Reflecting on his broader relationship with the World Championship, Cullen admitted it took him years to feel at home on the biggest stage in the sport. “I was terrible for the first six or seven years,” he said. “I don’t think I won a game for the first six or seven years. I’m just desperate to do well here.”

He also suggested the draw itself played a role in sharpening his focus. “There are a few favourable draws in this tournament, let’s be honest,” he said. “If I’d had one of them, I might have been a bit complacent and scraped over the line. But I knew with Bradley I had to play well.”

After a nervy opening set, Cullen seized control early in the match. "I was nervous in the first set,” he admitted. “After that, I settled myself, got the break and came out firing in the second set. It was my darts and I played great. From 2–0, it’s a long way back for anyone.”

Cullen acknowledged that being unfancied continues to fuel his best performances, something he has shown previously at the World Matchplay and in recent World Championship runs.

“When people write you off, you get the hump and it inspires you,” he said. “I still thought I’d be favourite, then my son told me Bradley was 8–13 favourite. How? That’s nothing against Bradley, but I’m so much more experienced on that stage than he is. I just dig performances out from somewhere. Believe me, there’s no one more frustrated than me. It’s not been a great year.”

That frustration, however, comes with perspective. Cullen has still lifted two titles this season, a point he was keen to underline when asked about inconsistency. “Define a great year,” he said. “I’ve not had a great year, but I’ve still won two tournaments. There are people who’ve been consistent all year and not won a thing. Which would you rather have? I know which way I’d have it. I’d love to be more consistent, but there are people who would love to be sat in this seat now.”

Asked about his ability to follow up big performances, Cullen bristled at suggestions that he faded after standout wins in previous years, memorably challenging a journalist over his recall of a match against Gerwyn Price. “You can’t remember the 170?” he laughed. “Maybe do your research, mate.”

Nevertheless, he accepted there were clear similarities between this win and last year’s victory over Wessel Nijman.

“There definitely are,” Cullen said. “Bradley was favourite, but it wasn’t talked about as much as it was with Wessel. Wessel didn’t want that attention and I think it hindered him because I was so up for the game. Today, I didn’t feel like I could lose.”

Cullen believes stage experience remains an underrated factor, particularly at Alexandra Palace.

“There’s a big difference between doing it on the floor and doing it on that stage,” he said. “I woke up this morning with nerves I don’t feel at any other tournament, and it’s not even justified. So yeah, experience matters.”

When the conversation turned to his struggles for consistency, Cullen was brutally honest. “A lack of motivation and a lack of putting the work in,” he said. “So I’m to blame. The buck stops with me. You get in what you put out.

“I put the work in before this and before the Worlds last year, but that’s not sustainable. You need to put the work in all year. Look at Damon Heta, look at Wessel Nijman – lads who are constantly there at the latter stages.

“Motivation and confidence together are so tough to beat. Something needs to change next year. I’m not happy just going through the motions.”

Cullen returned once more to the subject of bookmakers’ odds when asked why it mattered so much to him.

“I don’t care in that sense,” he insisted. “I use it as motivation. I just think, how is Bradley favourite against me? How?”

When a journalist suggested the match should have been even money when quizzed about how he would rate it, Cullen pushed back. “On this stage?” he asked, incredulously.

Broadcaster Rod Studd later clarified that the market had opened evenly before heavy support for Brooks saw his odds shorten to 8–13. “I don’t look at odds,” Cullen said. “I did last year, but this year I didn’t. My son told me – he doesn’t really understand odds – and that was it. I use it as motivation, definitely.”

Cullen also explained how important it was to assert himself early against Brooks. “I knew if you give him encouragement, he could push on,” he said. “Second set, I thought: just come out and batter him, because it was my darts. It’s a long way back from 2–0.”

Despite the quality of his performance, Cullen admitted he would have taken any kind of win. “I’d have taken a 78 average and scabbed it on doubles,” he said. “A win on that stage is everything. It took me years to win a game there. To win and play well is a bonus, but any win is pleasing.”