Joe Cullen was knocked out in the semi-finals of the Betfred World Matchplay on Saturday night.

He had never gone past the last-eight stage in this major, held at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, but did so here after beating Daryl Gurney 16-11 on Thursday.

The Wyke native went up against Nathan Aspinall in the first of the two semi-finals, and after a slow start, he broke with a 71 checkout to close the gap to just 3-2 behind.

And with ‘The Asp’ sat needing double top to take a 5-2 lead, Cullen produced a stunning 148 finish, his highest of the tournament, to reduce the deficit to 4-3.

But after that, with Cullen showing profligacy on his doubles, Aspinall pulled away.

He led 6-4 at the second interval and soon made that 10-5 in the first-to-17 clash.

With the game slipping away, the Bradford man at least produced a superb 124 checkout to close the gap to 15-9 down, but Aspinall won the next two legs to wrap up a comprehensive 17-9 victory.

He went on to win the final, obliterating Jonny Clayton 18-6 to clinch the biggest title of his career so far.