THE FACTS
When is Ian White vs Joe Cullen taking place? Sunday 21st July, 2019
Where is Ian White vs Joe Cullen taking place? Winter Gardens, Blackpool
What channel is Ian White vs Joe Cullen on? Sky Sports Arena
Where can I stream Ian White vs Joe Cullen? Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via Sky Go
Where can I get tickets for Ian White vs Joe Cullen? Check https://www.pdc.tv/betfred-world-matchplay-tickets for ticket information
THE STATISTICS
All-time meetings: Ian White 8-3 Joe Cullen
Last meeting: Ian White 6-4 Joe Cullen
THE PLAYERS
IAN WHITE
- Ian White has enjoyed an excellent 2019 so far with two Euro Tour tournament wins including claiming the Dutch Darts Masters title where he defeated home favourite and world number one Michael van Gerwen in the final.
- Despite having picked up numerous PDC ranking titles over his career, White has underperformed in TV tournaments and has yet to get further than the quarter-finals in a PDC TV tournament.
- White has lost in the first round on only one previous occasion at the World Matchplay but he has struggled to get much deeper in the tournament having only ever gone further than the second round once in his seven previous appearances.
JOE CULLEN
- Joe Cullen returns to Blackpool having missed two match darts to defeat eventual champion Gary Anderson in the quarter-finals at the 2018 World Matchplay.
- Prior to his run to the last eight here last year – a run which included wins against Gerwyn Price and Daryl Gurney – he had suffered first-round defeats on his three previous appearances at Winter Gardens.
- Cullen arrives in Blackpool having reached his first ranking tournament final in just over two years at Players Championship 20 earlier this week. He defeated Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross and Adrian Lewis in consecutive matches before losing to Peter Wright.
THE PREDICTION
Ian White’s 2019 has gone very well so far with some excellent performances, especially on the Euro Tour, and he has a good opening-round record at the Matchplay. The number ten seed faces a very tricky opening match against the sometimes brilliant but often inconsistent Cullen who was so impressive here in 2018 when he cruelly lost to Anderson in the quarter-finals. This match has a good chance of going into extra-legs with White tipped to come through as the winner but he will have plenty to prove as the tournament progresses as he strives to go further than the last eight in a major PDC TV ranking tournament for the first time.
