Joe Cullen joked that he “couldn’t finish my dinner” during a rusty return from five weeks away from competitive darts, but the former Hungarian Darts Trophy champion is already thinking about another title after making a winning start in Budapest. Cullen beat Australian Tour Card holder Adam Leek 6-3 on Friday night to reach the second round, having struggled badly on the doubles when he returned to action at the Players Championship events earlier in the week.
“Yeah, definitely. Obviously, the first couple of ProTours this week, coming back after about five weeks off, I was so rusty and my doubles were horrific. I couldn’t finish my dinner,” Cullen admitted afterwards. “But yeah, I finished well tonight against Adam.” There was added familiarity to Cullen’s opening-round assignment. Leek has become part of the group Cullen regularly spends time with on the ProTour following the Australian’s move onto the PDC circuit this season. “We’ve sort of taken Adam under our wing,” Cullen explained. “He’s part of our table on the ProTour, so he’s a good lad and it’s his debut as well. It’s just ironic that on his debut he plays one of the lads he spends a lot of time with.”
Cullen’s next challenge is one that has repeatedly stopped him in recent seasons. He has reached the last 16 at only two European Tour events across the past two campaigns, a striking change for a player who was once a regular presence deep into Sunday. “Yeah, definitely, which is the complete opposite end of the spectrum because this used to be bread and butter,” Cullen said when that record was put to him. “I think I was in the quarter-finals nearly every single tournament for a period, but things move on and form dips in and out. It’s the same for every darts player.”
Despite those results, Cullen has lost none of his affection for the European Tour or Budapest in particular. “I think I’ve struggled on the European Tour, but I love playing in Budapest. I love playing the Euro Tour and it’s crowds like this that make you want more every time.” Budapest already occupies an important place in Cullen’s career. He won the inaugural Hungarian Darts Trophy in 2021, beating William O’Connor in the final to claim his third European Tour title. The tournament has since moved venue, but Cullen’s memories of the Hungarian capital remain unchanged. “Yeah, of course. Not at this venue, but Budapest has got great memories for me.”
Five years after that victory, Cullen sees no reason why another difficult spell on the European Tour should prevent him challenging again. “So yeah, why can’t I go and win it again?” His first opportunity to substantiate that belief comes against sixth seed Josh Rock in Saturday evening’s second round, with Cullen looking to reach only his third European Tour last 16 in the past two seasons.
