BRADFORD'S Joe Cullen has reached the quarter-finals of a televised event for only the second time in his career.

After beating world No 12 Gerwyn Price 10-3 in the first round last Sunday, the world No 18 had an equally comfortable 11-3 triumph over fifth seed Daryl Gurney in the BetVictor World Matchplay Championships.

Next up for 'The Rockstar' today at Blackpool's Winter Gardens is world No 4 Gary Anderson, a two-time World Matchplay semi-finalist.

Cullen, who had previously reached the last eight of the 2016 UK Open, led Gurney 4-3 after a tight opening, but then struck a crucial 95 finish to break the Gurney throw and proceeded to reel off the next six legs in impressive style.

Having taken four attempts to win his first game on the Winter Gardens stage, Cullen will now be bidding to make it three in a row to reach his first ever televised ranking semi-final.

The 29-year-old, who is now set to move into the world's top 16 for the first time, said: "To be honest I'm disappointed that this is only my second televised ranking quarter-final.

"I feel I should've made a lot more but now I've got the chance to kick on now and do even better."

Cullen said of his match: "I felt comfortable. Daryl wasn't himself but my job is to capitalise on his mistakes, and that's what I did.

"Any player in the world would be happy to hit half their doubles.

"I need to up my scoring and I will hopefully do so in the next round."

Anderson came from 5-1 down to beat Raymond van Barneveld 11-9 in a high-quality encounter, throwing a magnificent 104.17 average – the highest of the tournament so far.

Anderson won the match in style, taking out 82 on the bull.

He said: "It's not often I give it a big celebration but it felt good when I won that one.

"When I was 5-1 behind, I wasn't nervous at all.

"I was kicking myself that I was behind and I knew I could get back into it.

"I was playing with a new set of darts tonight and they felt good.

"Joe will be a tough game in the next round and I'll have to be ready to start well."