JOE Cullen is the final player to make his bow at the PDC World Darts Championship this year, but the Bradford thrower is glad the draw has worked out that way.

Ricky Evans beat 'Queen of the Palace' Fallon Sherrock 3-1 on Tuesday, booking himself a second-round date with Cullen tomorrow night.

That clash will be the final second-round encounter, and the last match before the tournament's traditional mini-break until December 27.

And Cullen said: "I prefer starting late.

"The only thing the draw guarantees is the reigning World Champion plays on the opening night, otherwise it is random.

"But me not starting until the Friday night of the second week means the tournament has had chance to settle.

"By the time I play there'll only be 33 players left, so if you look at it that way, it's exciting.

"The tournament is basically halfway through before I even have to get going."

Sherrock usually has the crowd on her side, and Tuesday was no different, with Evans being constantly barracked.

But Cullen reflected: "It's a tough one, because to stop that, you'd have to get into the realms of things like banning alcohol.

"For venues like Alexandra Palace, bar revenue is a big part of the tournament.

"Really, you just have to accept that the booing is part of the game, and Ricky would have been expecting it anyway.

"You've just got to be as professional as you can in those circumstances.

"Rob Owen got booed against Andrew Gilding on Monday because he's Welsh, and he reacted, made a rod for his own back, and ended up losing 3-2.

"For me, the best way to silence the crowd if they're against you is to get on with the game and beat your opponent."

Speaking of opponents, Evans made quite the entrance against Sherrock, coming on stage dressed as Santa Claus.

But Cullen said: "Ricky's actually a really quiet guy.

"A bit like Peter Wright, he's got a big on-stage persona, where he'll act a little clownish, but that's not what he's like usually.

"It was a bit of strange game between Ricky and Fallon, because I think he's a better player than her, for all she's great, but there wasn't much between them at all and the match could have gone either way."

If Cullen gets past Evans, he'll face Damon Heta in round three next Wednesday, but the Wyke thrower said: "You can look at your quarter and try to work out who you'll play at each stage but it never materialises that way.

"You could be daunted, thinking you'll face a big player in each round, but they might get knocked out.

"Ultimately if I look past Ricky, and think about my next game, I could lose to him 3-0."

Cullen has never made it past the fourth round at the Worlds, and he knows he could do with making a mark at Ally Pally.

He said: "There's so much money involved.

"I got £15,000 for reaching the Players Championship quarter-finals last month, but I'll get £50,000 for getting to the same stage at this year's Worlds.

"If you can do damage here, it moves you right up the rankings.

"I'm the 13th seed this year, but if you look at the top four, they've all made semis and finals here over the last few years.

"A run to the last four or further here basically gets you into any tournament you want moving forward."