JOE Cullen fell at the first hurdle of the BetVictor World Matchplay tournament despite a spirited comeback against Raymond van Barneveld.
The Wyke professional produced 11 and 12-dart legs to peg back the former world champion, who had raced into an 8-3 lead in the Blackpool showdown.
Cullen landed a 180 and a 120 finish to move within two legs in the first-to-ten clash at the Winter Gardens but crucially missed three darts at tops to cut the gap to one.
Van Barneveld stretched his advantage and although Cullen took out 100 and double eight to keep his hopes alive, a miss at double ten for a 140 finish allowed the Dutchman to finally secure the win.
Van Barneveld said: "I know how well Joe can play and I'm very happy to win. Joe played out of his skin in the last few legs."
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