World Darts Championship: What caused Joe Cullen's post-match outburst after winning start at the Alexandra Palace?

Joe Cullen breezed through to the third round of the World Darts Championship but the headlines will be dominated by what happened after his straight-sets victory at the Alexandra Palace.

'The Rockstar' claimed a straight-sets victory over Dutchman Wessel Nijman, averaging 98.18 in one of his best performances of the year to book a third-round meeting with Gerwyn Price after Christmas.

Cullen had been considered the outsider to win his match with the bookies having won just three of his previous 12 matches before this year's Worlds but was at his clinical best to avoid an early exit.

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The 35-year-old came under scrutiny for his behaviour after the win, where he gave a short interview to Sky Sports' Abigail Davies on the stage before storming out of his post-match press conference. The Sky Sports team take a closer look at what lead to his outburst and how the darting world reacted...

What did he say post-match?

Cullen gave noticeably short answers to Sky Sports in his on-stage interview - described as "short and sweet" - offering a three-world reply to his opening question and later responding to a question about whether it was best performance on a big stage for some time by simply saying: "No".

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He then cut short his post-match press conference, where he said: "I don't know Wessel personally but I think the surrounding of the media led to his demise a little bit.

"I've struggled this year on the oche and off the oche so to find a performance like that, to be honest I've got you guys to thank because I don't think I would have played like that if I had read some of the nonsense that I read beforehand."

He added: "The media attention that Wessel has got - again, this is not a reflection on him - he seems like a fantastic kid.

"The way I've been treated with the media and things like that. I know you guys have no control of the bookies, but I've been shown no respect so I won't share any respect to any of you guys tonight. I'm going to go home."

Why did he do this?

Cullen felt that he had been written off by the press in the build-up to his opening Worlds match against Nijman, with lots tipping the Dutchman as the favourite and the bookies concurring.

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The Englishman - by his own admission - had not had the best year on the circuit, averaging around 90 overall and 89 on the Pro Tour, but believed that the level to which he had been "written off" was disrespectful to him as such an established player.

Was the reaction fair?

Cullen's post-match interviews quickly became viral on social media and left him criticised by fans and pundits alike, with the Sky Sports Darts team believing the pre-match predictions of him being underdog were justified.

Dawson added: "He's evidently got the hump because he was made the underdog against Nijman, who is a very new up and coming player. The reason that he was made the underdog is because Cullen has had his worst year in ages and Nijman has been doing really exciting things.

"Ultimately, if Joe Cullen played like this afternoon all year then he wouldn't have been the underdog for a start, because he was magnificent."

Sky Sports' Laura Turner said: "When we're sat in these chairs, we just look at the statistics, look at all the information that we can possibly find and compile it. Ultimately we try to predict and it's not anything about the player - we do the best we can with the information we've got.

"Statistically, everything was pointing in the way of Nijman."

Could the response motivate Cullen?

Dan Dawson: "It's a little bit silly, but it was also quite funny and I think that overrides it. If that is what has spurred him on to go and play his proper stuff, then brilliant - make him the underdog every round!

"I will happily watch Joe Cullen be the underdog in every match and claim he's not been respected and he can be world champion, because he is brilliant to watch when he plays like that."

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What did Cullen do next?

With social media reacting to Cullen's press conference, he took to social media to clarify his on-stage interview.

"Last thing I'll say just to clarify this...myself and Abi get on brilliant," he said. "I briefed Abi before the interview started that I wouldn't be giving her much… and she replied 'no problem sugar ****!' [In Nessa from Gavin and Stacey's voice].

"Just to draw a line under that. Enjoy Xmas guys."

Could Cullen now beat Price?

With the victory, Cullen has set up a meeting with former world champion Price after Christmas.

Price was fired up as he powered past Keane Barry in a 3-0 whitewash in the second round, averaging 91.32 and taking out nine 140s and a 180 in the contest, with the 'Iceman' looking to make a big run in the tournament.

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"I don't know who is favourite - that might be an important thing," Dawson explained. "Nijman was actually a favourite to come through that whole section of the draw because of how well he has played, but Cullen put a stop to that.

"Cullen now has to back that up and keep on backing up, which we know he can. The guy is a former major champion who has previously nearly won the Premier League. He has had some heart-breaking close defeats, not least last year by Luke Humphries on that Alexandra Palace stage."

When does the third round take place?

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The darts returns after Christmas on December 27, with four consecutive days of double sessions at the Alexandra Palace to leave the third and fourth rounds completed by December 30.

They have a night off on New Year's Eve ahead of the quarter-finals held across two sessions on New Year's Day, with the semi-finals on January 2 and the final on Friday January 3.

The full day-by-day schedule for this year's tournament can be found here.

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