James Wade has been in excellent form in recent weeks, but the Machine does not think he will be able to force his way into the Premier League regardless of his performances
James Wade thinks he has no chance of forcing his way into Premier League Darts again. Wade began his World Matchplay campaign in excellent fashion at the weekend.
He dispatched Joe Cullen 10-3 while averaging 104.44, the highest-ever three-dart average he has ever produced on the Winter Gardens stage. The Machine has also moved up three places to No. 5 in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) Order of Merit, which means he is knocking on the door of next year’s Premier League.
The top four players are automatically included in the lucrative competition, while the other four slots are decided by Sky Sports and the PDC, who have previously admitted to factoring in the marketability and popularity of players for those places. The 11-time major winner won the Premier League in 2009, but has not competed in the competition since 2022, where he finished third in the table to reach finals night.
But even if he does manage to catch Stephen Bunting, who is currently fourth in the order of merit, he thinks the PDC would alter the rules to keep him out. Speaking to SportsBoom, when asked if he thinks he can force his way into the Premier League, Wade said: “I think I’ve paid enough dues, and I think I’ve done enough things, and I think I’ve given enough of my life to the PDC that I’d like to get those rewards.
“But I don’t think that’d ever happen to me. I think if I was to get back into the top four things would change with the qualification gaps.
“I just think it would change. I’m not what they need and I’m not probably what they want, but I want to be there a hundred percent.”
When asked to explain why he feels he is being overlooked, he replied: “Because I’m awkward. I’m an awkward character. I probably don’t say the right things at the right times.
“If I was great at saying the right things at the right time, I probably would’ve been in all the World Series the last 12 months. But I don’t quite fit into that mould.
“There’s other players that do manage to get those things and unfortunately, I don’t. I’d love to travel the world. I’ve been doing it for 25 years.
“Do you not think I want to travel the world? Do you not think I want to represent the PDC? Do you not think I want my children and my wife to see me do great things?
“If anything, it crushes me. It crushes me. Why wouldn’t it crush me? I’m perhaps not getting what I maybe could have got. So, it’s exhausting not to be in that.
“But I’ll keep trying as hard as I can. I want to be in it all. I want to be part of it all. Of course, I do because when you’re not in it, you feel like a lemon.”
Wade next faces Wessel Nijman in round two in Blackpool. The Dutchman caused a huge shock in the first round when he ousted Nathan Aspinall, who reached the semi-final stages at the O2 Arena in this year’s Premier League campaign, 10-6 in their opening round encounter.
