JOE Cullen will not be heading back to action after a rare weekend off, as he sits out the trip to Germany for PDC Players Championship action.

Events 13 and 14 take place in Hildesheim next Monday and Tuesday, but the Bradford darts ace is not involved, which is also the case for the likes of Michael van Gerwen, Jonny Clayton and Nathan Aspinall.

It means he does not have chance to avenge his disappointment on the continent a couple of weeks ago.

Cullen was not playing in the US Darts Masters last weekend, won by Dutch superstar van Gerwen, but he was in European Tour action over the Bank Holiday at the end of May.

This time the Wyke native was aiming to win the European Darts Grand Prix, which was being held in Sindelfingen, near Stuttgart in south Germany.

His first game came in Saturday’s evening session, where he edged out Josh Payne 6-5.

But he lost to Damon Heta by the same scoreline in the last-16, a rare win for the Australian against his Bradford nemesis.

Heta went on to reach the semi-finals, where he was beaten 7-5 by Luke Humphries.

But it was Rob Cross who tasted glory in Sindelfingen, as he defeated Humphries 8-6 in a thrilling showpiece.