The PDC World Darts Championship is back underway after its traditional Christmas break, with Bradford ace Joe Cullen in action again today.

He won his opener, a second-round clash with Australian veteran Darren Penhall, 3-0 on Sunday, December 17, but has had an 11-day wait for his next match.

That finally rolls around this afternoon, when he takes on Ryan Searle this afternoon in the third round at the Alexandra Palace.

The pair face off in the second of the three afternoon matches today, after Florian Hempel and Stephen Bunting get the Thursday schedule underway.

Searle played his second-round game six days after Wyke thrower Cullen, in the final session at Ally Pally before Christmas, where he beat Japan’s Tomoya Goto 3-1.

The long-haired Somerset star will provide stiff opposition for his Bradford opponent, with ‘Heavy Metal’ currently ranked 19th in the world.

Cullen, nicknamed ‘The Rockstar’, sits 14th in the world, having slipped in the rankings slightly after a slightly disappointing 2023 by his standards.

He won the Masters and reached the Premier League final in 2022, but this year, his best efforts came in the World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix, with him reaching the semi-finals in both.