Bradford ace Joe Cullen in Milton Keynes Pro Tour final loss

The Northern Irish star claimed glory at the Dutch Darts Championship earlier this year, having initially tasted victory on the PDC ProTour with a Players Championship success in October 2022 as he burst on to the circuit.

He scooped another £15,000 title in style on Friday to conclude three days of Players Championship action at the Marshall Arena, edging out Wyke ace Cullen in a tight contest.

After sharing the final's first four legs, Rock needed just 43 darts to open up a 5-2 cushion, before a brace of double four finishes saw Cullen cut the gap to one.

Rock took the next before Cullen levelled at six-all, only for the former World Youth Champion to power home a huge 170 finish for a 7-6 lead before opening the next leg with a maximum, creating the cushion for double eight to seal victory.

Josh Rock came out on top in a hotly-contested finale. (Image: PDC.)

Cullen reached the final in scintillating fashion, producing a ton-topping 102 average in his 7-2 semi-final win over Florian Hempel, as he sought to claim a first ranking title for almost two years.

The Bradford star also enjoyed a 6-1 win over double World Champion Gary Anderson during Friday's event, but was a runner-up for the second time in 2024 - matching his run to April's Austrian Darts Open final.

It has been a tough few months for Cullen, but Friday brought a welcome return to form, which was perhaps unexpected given he had bowed out of Players Championship 15 and 16 early in the two days prior.

He began the Milton Keynes triple-header on Wednesday, beating Robbie Knops 6-5 in a low-quality affair before playing far better to thrash Mario Vandenbogaerde 6-1.

But he was then knocked out in the last-32, losing 6-2 to Scotland’s Darren Beveridge.

And Cullen failed to get anywhere on Thursday, thumped 6-2 in his opening match by another Scot, Andy Boulton on this occasion.