Joe Cullen beat Jeff Smith 6-4 in a final game decider to book his place in the semi-finals of the PDC Home Tour.
Group Six of the second phase of the tournament went down to the wire as Cullen and Smith faced off with four points each following wins over Martijn Kleermaker and birthday boy Chris Dobey.
But it was Cullen who joined Rob Cross, Dave Chisnall, Gary Anderson, Mike De Decker and Jelle Klaasen in the next round courtesy of a 6-4 win over Smith.
This was good news for followers of our tipster Chris Hammer, who has backed Cullen at 28/1 as well as Chisnall at 14/1 to become the inaugural champion of the event.
Cullen was playing in new surroundings having just moved house but adapted superbly, winning all three matches in his improvised set-up.
He kicked off by averaging 95 and winning every leg on double eight or 16 in a 6-3 win over Kleermaker.
World number 20 Dobey had a poor night on his 30th birthday, losing 6-1 to Smith after the Canadian averaged 100 and sealed victory with a 124 checkout on the bull.
Smith remained unbeaten by the skin of his teeth, surviving seven match darts to beat Kleermaker 6-5, while Cullen fought back from 3-1 down to emerge victorious from a last-leg decider with Dobey.
Dobey got on the board in his final match, beating Kleermaker 6-3, and Cullen got the job done in the decider with a double 19 double 19 finish.
Cullen, who has run a 5k every day in May, said: “I felt in control early doors but I was hanging on there with Jeff coming on strong.
“I could have lost all three games and the Home Tour would be a positive for me. I wasn’t bothered about darts, but I am playing alright and putting in performances like that without practising for two weeks.”
PDC Home Tour Darts: Sunday results and Monday fixtures
Group Six - Sunday May 31
- Joe Cullen 6-3 Martijn Kleermaker
- Jeff Smith 6-1 Chris Dobey
- Jeff Smith 6-5 Martijn Kleermaker
- Joe Cullen 6-5 Chris Dobey
- Chris Dobey 6-3 Martijn Kleermaker
- Joe Cullen 6-4 Jeff Smith
GROUP STANDINGS
- Joe Cullen P 3 W 3 L 0 Leg Diff +6 Pts 6
- Jeff Smith P 3 W 2 L 1 Leg Diff +4 Pts 4
- Chris Dobey P 3 W 1 L 2 Leg Diff -3 Pts 2
- Martijn Kleermaker P 3 W 0 L 3 Leg Diff -7 Pts 0
Group Seven - Monday June 1
- Nathan Aspinall v Jesús Noguera
- Jamie Hughes v Jose De Sousa
- Jesús Noguera v Jose De Sousa
- Nathan Aspinall v Jamie Hughes
- Jamie Hughes v Jesús Noguera
- Jose De Sousa v Nathan Aspinall
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