Nathan Aspinall v Joe Cullen (Premier League Darts): odds and bets 18.07.2026

Nathan Aspinall is one of those players who consistently seems to raise his level in Blackpool. The Asp has a special connection with the Winter Gardens and appears to thrive on the atmosphere inside the Empress Ballroom when the pressure is at its highest. He won the Matchplay in 2023 and has remained consistent in major tournaments ever since, allowing him to stay inside the world’s top 16 despite the emergence of a younger generation that has made a strong impact in recent years. He may not be the most spectacular player on the circuit, but his ability to manage the key moments often makes the difference over Blackpool’s longer format.

Joe Cullen arrives at the Winter Gardens during a difficult spell. The Bradford Bullet has endured an inconsistent ProTour season, mixing flashes of his best form with performances that have fallen well short of his natural ability. On his best nights, he can produce averages capable of troubling anyone on the circuit, but consistency has always been the main issue. When Cullen is playing well, he can be outstanding, but once he loses his rhythm, he often struggles badly to regain it, and those dips can prove extremely costly over the best of 19 legs.

The head-to-head record clearly favours Aspinall, who has repeatedly shown that he can read a match and make adjustments when an opponent begins to cause problems. Cullen, by contrast, tends to rely too heavily on his own performance level to stay competitive in longer contests. If he starts poorly, the mental side of the game could quickly work against him on a stage as demanding as the Empress Ballroom.

There is also another factor that cannot be ignored: this is a repeat of the 2023 Matchplay semi-final, which Aspinall won in convincing fashion. Previous results do not determine what will happen this time, but that meeting still offers a useful indication of how these two players respond when they face each other in a high-pressure setting.