BRADFORD darts ace Joe Cullen was bundled out of the International Darts Open at the first hurdle over the weekend, but at least he can say he was beaten by the tournament winner.

Cullen is a seeded player, so enters these European Tour events at the last-64 stage, but that meant he was coming into his match against Germany’s Martin Schindler cold.

The tournament took place in Riesa in Saxony, meaning Schindler was a popular figure at the event, and well supported by his home crowd.

He swept aside fellow Jan Dueckers 6-1 in his opening game, setting up a showdown with Cullen.

And the Wyke thrower did not even perform too badly, even going ahead early on against the throw.

But the imperious Schindler rattled off four straight legs to take a commanding lead, meaning his Bradford opponent’s fightback was in vain.

The German won the match 6-3 with a huge 105 average, with Cullen only able to manage 93 in comparison.

The Wyke man managed three 180s, while he had a highest checkout of 103, better than Schindler’s best of 96.

But Cullen only managed 33 per cent on his doubles, with his German rival on 50 per cent, which proved the biggest difference on Saturday night.

Schindler went on to deny Gerwyn Price a fifth International Darts Open title as he surged to victory in his first European Tour final.

The 27-year-old  powered his way to an 8-5 win over the two-time defending champion at the WT Energiesysteme Arena to claim his first senior PDC crown.

Price opened the final with an 11-dart leg, but world number 24 Schindler - nicknamed 'The Wall' - refused to buckle and checked out on 120 to take a 5-4 lead before throwing in a 10-dart leg to go 7-4 up.

Having left himself 48 to clinch victory, he made no mistake, putting his first dart in the single 16 bed and hitting the double with his second to popular acclaim from the home crowd.

Schindler's passage had been secured by a 7-3 semi-final demolition of England's Chris Dobey, who never recovered from losing the first five legs, with the German also having disposed of Dutchmen Richard Veenstra and Danny Noppert on his way to the last four.