The festive atmosphere at Alexandra Palace has been pierced by high drama and raw emotion at the PDC World Darts Championship. As the tournament heads towards its Christmas break, the action has been dominated not just by stunning checkouts but by a wave of controversy involving accusations of cheating and distressing online abuse.
Joe Cullen's Fury Over 'Cheating' Tactics
Joe Cullen, the world number 32, launched a furious attack after his second-round exit to Austria's Mensur Suljovic. Despite winning the first set, Cullen crumbled to a 3-1 defeat against the methodical Suljovic, who averaged just 81.95. The Bradford-born player, known for walking out to Oasis, took to social media platform X to vent his disgust.
"If that's darts, I don't want no part of it," Cullen wrote. He accused Suljovic's slow-playing style of being "plain for all to see" and stated, "word it how you will – it's cheating. That's not darts." The pair were seen arguing on stage following the match.
Suljovic responded in his post-match press conference, defending his unique rhythm: "What is the problem? Everybody plays different. I play maybe 40 seconds for my first dart. This is me." The Austrian, known as 'The Gentle', now faces a blockbuster third-round tie against world number one Luke Littler after Christmas.
Stephen Bunting's Emotional Breakdown
In a starkly different but equally charged incident, fan favourite Stephen 'The Bullet' Bunting was left in tears following his second-round victory. The 40-year-old had comfortably beaten India's Nitin Kumar 3-0 to progress, but his post-match reflections were overshadowed by a torrent of online hate.
The abuse stemmed from a throwaway comment Bunting made after his first-round win over Sebastian Bialecki, where he referred to himself as the "people's champion". This nickname, often used by broadcasters, triggered a backlash from online trolls.
"I've had some stick over social media," an emotional Bunting revealed. "That was literally a comment from what Sky have said, what PDC have said. It wasn't me saying I'm the people's champion." He added that he had received abusive emails but vowed to rise above it, praising the "proper darts fans" in the Ally Pally crowd for their support.
Gracious Exit for The Iceman
Amid the controversy, there was a moment of sportsmanship. Former world champion Gerwyn Price suffered a major shock exit, being whitewashed 3-0 by world number 92 Wesley Plaisier on Sunday evening. Despite recording a higher average, Price was defeated.
Known for his confrontational style, 'The Iceman' was gracious in defeat. He took to Instagram to praise his opponent, writing: "Absolutely gutted... Wesley was great at the right moments but I was way off and it showed, good luck to him and everyone else left in the tournament." He signed off with festive wishes to his fans.
The championship now pauses for Christmas, with the remaining 32 players set to return to Alexandra Palace with plenty of talking points already secured. The row over gamesmanship and the impact of social media abuse on players are set to dominate discussions alongside the arrows themselves.
