Joe Cullen stormed out of the post-match press conference after his 3-0 win over Wessel Nyman in the second round of the PDC World Championship, accusing the media of a lack of respect.
The 2022 Masters winner will next face 2021 winner Gerwyn Price, but he was kept short in a difficult on-stage interview at Alexandra Palace. Mr Cullen, who was born in Bradford, then vented his frustrations to reporters backstage before leaving the show.
The 35-year-old, referring to the fact that his Dutch opponent Nijman had previously been suspended for breaching anti-gambling and anti-corruption rules, said: “To be honest, Wessel is getting all the media attention.'' But this is not a reflection on him either.” He looks like a great kid. Although he was involved in some things beforehand, he served his time and put his hand up, like a lot of people didn't.
“I think it’s probably the way I’ve been treated in the media and things like that – I know you guys can’t control the bookmakers – I haven’t been shown any respect. So I is not going to show respect to anyone.'' Tonight, everyone. I'm going home. cheers. “
Ian White then jokingly referred to his next opponent Luke Littler as “Runcorn's No2” after fighting back and defeating Richie Edhouse. The 54-year-old set up a showdown with teenage sensation Littler thanks to a 3-1 win over European champions Ed House.
White, who was born in the same Cheshire town as the 17-year-old Littler, admitted he needs to step up his game when he returns to Oche for the third round. Asked if he knew who was waiting for him, White told Sky Sports: “Yes, number two from Runcorn. I'm from Runcorn and number one! I hope it's a better game than the one we played tonight. I hope.”
White, a 2014 quarterfinalist, bounced back from dropping the first set to win with an average of 88.86 points from three darts in a match where he only hit two 180s. In contrast, last year's runner-up Littler averaged 100.85 points in his 3-1 win over Ryan Meikle on Saturday night, falling just millimeters short of a nine-dart finish.
“You want to cause an upset. You're going to be the underdog, but I'm all for it,” White continued. Luke Littler has given his all for the sport at this point the past two years, so keep doing that. You can tell by this crowd, the way they're singing, that everyone wants to come to Darts – and they need to be there for Christmas. ”
Earlier, Ryan Searle started with a 10-dart finish en route to a comfortable 3-0 win over Canada's Matt Campbell, while Latvia's Madars Razma edged 25th seed Dirk van Duijvenbode of the Netherlands by 3-3. I broke it in 1.
