JOE Cullen crashed out at the opening stage of the William Hill PDC World Championship for the eighth time on his 10th appearance at the prestigious tournament.

The Wyke darts ace suffered a shock 3-1 defeat to world number 222 Nico Kurz on another disappointing day for the 30-year-old at Alexandra Palace.

Although it was a tight affair with each set going to a decider, Cullen's quick start was in vain as his German opponent went on a rampant run to win three sets in a row.

Despite being two games down in the opening set, the 15th seed, who finished on a 92.47 average, trotted off three games in a row, firing a 116 checkout along the way.

The second set followed the exact same pattern but it was the 20-year-old who completed the comeback on this occasion.

The Rockstar started with an identical 116 finish as he built a solid lead, before Kurz checked out 41 for the third time on his way to levelling the set.

In a nervous decider, where both players missed opportunities, it was the underdog who eventually held his nerve to take out double 10.

The pair exchanged games in the third before Kurz took advantage of the favourite's couple of double misses to go ahead for the first time in the match.

Cullen came out a set later with some mean intentions as he built another two game lead but was pegged back again as his debutant opponent broke back and held his throw to cause a decider.

The West Yorkshireman's luck at the worlds was summed up when he failed to checkout on 86 after mistakenly hitting a treble four instead of a big 18 to set up a finish.

This left the German, who shot a 93.05 average, to clear up on tops and book his place in the last 32 of the sport's biggest competition.

Meanwhile, Cullen's miseries on the world's stage continue as he will aim to put an admittedly poor season behind him going into 2020.