James Wade fumes as 'rivals who aren't that great' get preferential treatment

James Wade has slammed PDC bosses after claiming he’s being unfairly overlooked in favour of lesser players. Wade, 41, has become one of the most recognisable faces on the PDC Tour, winning 11 major titles in his colourful career.

That put’s him third on the all-time list, with only the iconic duo of Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen having won more.

The last of those titles came back at the 2021 UK Open though, and Wade is now down at No.19 in the world rankings and often overlooked when it comes to being given top billing at big events.

Indeed, despite reaching the semi-final stage of the Premier League in 2022, he’s not been selected for the event since, with the likes of Luke Littler and current work champion Luke Humphries now considered the leading lights of the sport. And speaking at the World Grand Prix, Wade hit out at what he perceived to be unfair treatment.

“I think there’s a lot of smoke blown up a lot of other darts players backsides that aren’t that great,” he said. “Players that haven’t won a TV tournament, and yet they’re edged on to be favourites above me.”

Despite conceding he had no given right to be ranked highly at major events, ‘The Machine’ also pointed to his career record. “I don’t believe there’s many people who have won more TV titles than me, and everyone knows if I’m interested I won’t be there or whereabouts - ill be there whereabouts.

“So the irony to be fair, I find it ironic that some darts players are overlooked you know, including myself. And there’s lots of other great players that have been overlooked over the years that have won tournaments so, yeah….”

Darts has enjoyed increased publicity in recent years, with Barry and Eddie Hearn having long voiced their ambition to make the PDC Tour a global phenomenon. And Wade did admit that widening the appeal of the sport could also be positive if done in the correct manner.

On seedings and tournament selection being unpredictable, he added: “But’s that what makes darts interesting isn’t it? You know, because, it’s controlled by people and it’s entertaining.”

Wade, a four-time world championship semi-finalist, joined the PDC from the BDO back in 2004. His finest career moment arguably came back in 2009, when he beat Mervyn King 13-8 at Wembley Arena to be crowned Premier League champion.

However, the former world No.2 has endured a difficult 2024 season, although has attributed his struggling form to an undisclosed health scare. He's through to the second round at the World Grand Prix though, beating Peter Wright on Tuesday.