James Wade is one of the most decorated players in the history of darts and believes winning the World Darts Championship will cement his legend in the sport.
During his career, Wade won the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, British Open, European Championship, Premier League, and Masters, establishing himself as one of the greatest players to ever play.
But the world is something that has always eluded him. He reached the semifinals four times in 2009, 2012, 2013, and 2022, but never made it to the final.
He also entered this tournament having lost three games in a row in the second round, increasing his motivation to make it through this time as well.
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James Wade defeats Luke Littler to be eliminated from the European Championship for the first time
With that in mind, Wade admits he’s nervous but hopes his strong performance in 2025, which saw him rise to world number seven, translates into a strong showing at Ally Pally, especially as he believes he’s in the latter stages of his career.
“To be honest, I’m nervous. I just want to have a good run, and I haven’t had that in the last three years. But I’m looking forward to it,” said Wade, who plays for Japan’s Ryusei Atsumoto, on Wednesday.
“I’m not sure I’ve hit the nail on the head at that stage yet, but ultimately I want to reach the finals.It’s already my 22nd year, so I’m sure I’ll get the chance sooner or later.
“I’ve been trying to motivate myself. I’ve been trying to see me through to the final, but it hasn’t worked out so far.
“I want to get into the later stages and I hope this is the year. I have fewer years left, because obviously I’m not going to play forever. Retirement is not far away.
“I’m probably limited in the numbers and years I have right now to do something and actually win what I’ve been missing out on.”
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James Wade hits six perfect darts in World Matchplay’s semi-final against Johnny Clayton, but misses the treble bed on the seventh
Talk of retirement may come as a shock given the way Wade has been playing, but for him the decision on how long he plays will be based on prioritizing his family over the level at which he is pitching.
“It’s not that I can’t play darts, but I think I’ll reach a point where I stop traveling because I have a young family, right? And that’s probably the most important thing in my life, no, that’s the most important thing in my life, is that I have a young family,” he said.
“So I still have a good few years left. But I don’t want to just go through their entire childhood and all the years until they turn 16. I think that’s unfair to them.”
So what in the world will make a difference for Wade? It’s a case of bringing back what everyone knows and this time highlighting everything he’s accomplished before.
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Michael Smith and James Wade exchange finishes of over six tons in the World Championship semi-final at Ally Pally
“I think it’s just icing on the cake for me,” Wade added.
“I think quite a few people don’t really understand how much I’ve won and what I’ve been doing.
“It would be nice to finish it for myself and I think if I win a world title, people might recognize more of what I’ve done in the past.
“It might make me more emphatic, which would make me very happy.
“To be completely honest, I stopped worrying so much about pleasing more people and doing more. Now I just do what I have to do.
“I stopped worrying so much about what people didn’t know. I realized that it wasn’t as important as what I was doing for myself and my family.”
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match live and exclusively on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel from December 11th to January 3rd (Sky channel 407 from December 10th). Stream darts and other top sports now.
