JOE Cullen booked his place in the last 16, and a date with the mighty Michael Van Gerwen, at the PDC World Darts Championship last night after an enthralling 4-3 win over Jonny Clayton.

Bradford star Cullen opened up an early 2-0 lead, but his Welsh opponent turned the game on its head to lead 3-2.

But the Wyke dartist showed supreme powers of recovery to come back and win.

It was always going to be a tight contest, with Cullen the 16th seed and Clayton the 17th seed, and a dramatic opening set set the tone.

Cullen held on his throw, but Clayton hit straight back, before a poor third leg from the Bradfordian saw his opponent break him.

But after the Welshman missed two shots at double to take the opening set, Cullen nailed double six to take it to a deciding leg.

And it was the Bradford man who took it, with a superb 103 checkout.

Cullen pinned double eight to make the early break in the second set, and he was comfortable after that, winning it by three legs to one to make it 2-0.

A nightmare third set for Cullen saw him broken twice, as Clayton clicked into gear with checkouts of 106 and 114 to pull it back to 2-1.

A wild fourth set saw none of the first four legs go with the throw, but Clayton held when it mattered, hitting double four to level the match.

Cullen produced a stunning 124 checkout to hold throw at the start of set five, but he was broken soon after and poor finishing saw him go 3-2 down.

But the Wyke man regained his mojo in the sixth set, landing pressure doubles in the opening two legs, and a 13-darter in the third to take it in a whitewash and make it 3-3.

But it was Clayton who made the early move in the decider, breaking throw and then consolidating with a 106 checkout to go two legs in front.

Cullen needed three consecutive legs to stay in the tournament, and after holding, he produced a brilliant 12-darter to break back and take the game to a deciding leg on his throw.

And with Clayton only needing double top to win, Cullen held his nerve, checking out 100 to edge a thriller.

Cullen's clash with MVG, the world number one, takes place tomorrow night, live on Sky Sports at 8:15pm.