JOE Cullen did not rediscover his form at Minehead yesterday, as he was dumped out of the Players Championship at the first hurdle.

This tournament is the final major of the year before the World Championship next month, so the Bradford thrower would have been hoping to go on a deep run here at the very least.

Cullen was facing Dave Chisnall, the man who he beat to claim the biggest title of his career so far, the 2022 Masters.

But it was the St Helens man who came out on top emphatically yesterday, thrashing Cullen 6-1.

Cullen was on the back foot early on, and after an awful concession on his own throw, he was 3-0 down in no time.

Joe Cullen started and ended badly in Minehead, exiting the tournament with just a single leg to his name.Joe Cullen started and ended badly in Minehead, exiting the tournament with just a single leg to his name. (Image: Mark Robinson/PDC.)

But the Wyke native looked to have got a foothold with an excellent 81 finish to reduce the deficit to 3-1.

Yet that was as good as it got for Cullen, who did not even set up a checkout in the next three legs, with his emphatic defeat quickly wrapped up.

The Bradfordian only averaged a miserable 86.17 in the match, Chisnall miles ahead of that with 96.26 across the seven legs.

For Cullen, it is back to the drawing board, with the Worlds starting at Alexandra Palace three weeks tomorrow.