The action took the players to Krakow for the Polish Darts Open, though the 48-strong field saw some late changes, as two of the world’s best, Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price, withdrew on medical grounds.

Cullen qualified for the tournament via his ranking on the PDC Pro Tour of Merit, where he immediately faced a big challenge.

The Wyke native was facing Host Nation Qualifier Krzysztof Kciuk, who was roared on by a partisan crowd in the Krakow arena.

But Cullen held his nerve against an inferior opponent, cruising through with a 6-2 win and a 99.85 average.

Krzysztof Ratajski (right) was the only Polish player to get beyond the first round in Krakow at the weekend, with Joe Cullen knocking out home hopeful Krzysztof Kciuk in his openeer. (Image: Jonas Hunold/PDC)

That put him into a second-round clash with Michael Smith, who has slipped down the rankings after a tough few years since winning the world title in 2023.

He had initially failed to qualify for the Polish Darts Open, only to be called up from the reserves list, along with Callan Rydz, following the withdrawals of van Gerwen and Price.

Despite the downturn in the pair’s performances over the last couple of years, Smith and Cullen both possess outstanding natural talent.

The pair played out a second-round thriller, but it was Smith who won 6-5 to get through.

The tournament was eventually won by Luke Littler, who beat fellow young superstar Gian van Veen 8-4 in the final.

Either side of the Polish Darts Open were four Players Championship events.

PC3 and PC4 took place in Wigan ahead of the Krakow event, with Cullen losing 6-5 in the first round to Latvia’s Madars Razma in the former.

Cullen did better the following day, beating Keane Barry, Scott Waites and Damon Heta before losing his last-16 clash to Niels Zonneveld.

And the Bradfordian carried his decent form into PC5, which took place in Leicester on Tuesday.

He first saw off German teen Yorick Hoefkens, before beating Gabriel Clemens, Adam Gawlas, Brendan Dolan and then getting revenge on Zonneveld.

But Cullen was beaten in the semis by Chris Dobey and he was quickly dumped out of Wednesday’s PC6, also in Leicester, the Wyke ace losing his opener 6-2 against Tom Bissell.

The Bradford man, currently the world number 35, will return to action on March 6-8 at the UK Open in Minehead.