James Wade
Encyclopedia
James Wade is an English professional darts
player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation
(PDC). He became the youngest player ever to win a major PDC title at the World Matchplay in July 2007. He has since won the 2007 World Grand Prix, the 2008 and 2011 UK Opens, the 2009 Premier League, the 2010 World Grand Prix and 2010 Championship League Darts, and has been at a career-high ranking of second in the PDC Order of Merit. James Wade is officially the second most successful player in PDC history, after Phil Taylor.
but the following year he won the Swiss Open and then made his television debut at the 2003 Lakeside World Championship
, but lost 2–3 in the first round to Dennis Harbour
having missed eight darts to win the match in the fourth set. In other BDO Open events during 2003, he reached the Norway Open final, Belgian Open semi-finals and Dutch Open quarter finals.
At the 2004 Lakeside World Championship, he beat Shaun Greatbatch
3–0 in the first round, before losing to Darryl Fitton
in the second round. Later in 2004, he reached a series of quarter-finals including the German Open, the Isle of Man Open and the prestigious International Darts League
in May – which was his last tournament as a BDO affiliated player.
and 2005 BDO World Championship
to join the Professional Darts Players Association (PDPA) and the PDC circuit.
He made his PDC World Darts Championship
début in 2005, losing in the first round to Mark Holden. He bounced back from this to win the Irish Masters in February and reach the last 16 of the UK Open later that year. He also qualified for the Las Vegas Desert Classic
(beating the experienced Ronnie Baxter
) and the World Grand Prix during the year as well. He also qualified for the 2006 World Championship
, losing again in the first round, this time 3–2 to Wayne Jones
, who would go on to reach the semi-finals, despite having won the first six legs for a two-set lead.
Wade reached the last 16 of the 2007 PDC World Championship
losing to Terry Jenkins
having earlier beaten New Zealand qualifier Warren French
and Dave Ladley
.
in July. He sensationally reached the final, beating four experienced and respected darts players, in his first ever appearance at the Winter Gardens
. He beat Denis Ovens
in the first round 10–1, having had darts to make it a 10–0 whitewash. In the second round he beat former World Championship finalist Kevin Painter
13–9, ending one leg with two double-20s to cause a minor controversy, and beat Chris Mason
16–4 in his quarter-final. In the semi-finals he came back from 1–5 down to beat Roland Scholten
19–17 in a tiebreaker, which requires the winner to win by two clear legs. In the final he played Phil Taylor but despite being 8–5 up, he lost 18–11.
He then returned to Blackpool in 2007 to claim the title – his first major televised tournament success and became the youngest player ever to win a PDC televised event in doing so. His route to the title and £50,000 cheque saw him beat Wayne Jones
, Dennis Priestley
, Mervyn King, Adrian Lewis
and Terry Jenkins
(who beat Taylor in the semi-final) in the final.
Although Wade's victory was nothing short of emphatic over the ever-tenacious Jenkins, many believe his semi-final victory over Lewis was one of the finest performances ever seen at the Winter Gardens . He consistently checked out ton-plus scores whilst Lewis, fresh from defeating world champion Raymond van Barneveld
, having a 3-dart average of over 100, was unable to keep up with the fast-improving Wade.
Wade also won the next PDC major tournament – the 2007 World Grand Prix
in Dublin in October beating van Barneveld by 5 sets to 1 in the semi-final and repeating his Blackpool success over Jenkins in the final.
Wade's aforementioned successes in 2007 were rewarded with him winning the 2007 PDC Player of the Year. Wade became the second recipient of this award, following in the footsteps of Taylor in 2006. He was presented with it at the annual PDC Awards Dinner in January 2008.
Wade reached the quarter-finals of the 2008 PDC World Championship, being defeated 5 sets to 4 in a close encounter against John Part
, who went on to win the tournament.
In January 2008, Wade became the first player to defeat Taylor in the Premier League, winning the match 8 legs to 6. Taylor however exacted revenge with a 16–8 victory in the final on 26 May 2008 after Wade had defeated van Barneveld in the semi-final.
On 8 June 2008, Wade beat American Gary Mawson
11–7 in the final to win the 2008 UK Open, claiming his third major trophy within a year. The following month, he reached the finals of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, losing 13–7 to Taylor. Then in July reached his 3rd World Matchplay final in a row, losing for the 2nd time in 3 years in the final to Taylor 18–9, making this the 3rd major final loss of the year against Taylor.
In the 2009 PDC World Championship, Wade reached a stage further than the previous year, reaching the semi-finals before losing 4–6 to van Barneveld.
Wade won the 2009 Premier League Darts
tournament, defeating Mervyn King 13–8 at the Wembley Arena
. However, he failed to defend his UK Open title in 2009 after losing to Peter Manley
9–8 in the third round. He then failed to reach the World Matchplay final for the first time, losing in the quarter-finals to Ronnie Baxter
.
Wade lost to an on-fire Simon Whitlock
in the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Championship
. Whitlock won 5–3 in sets.
Defending his Premier League title, Wade reached the final of the 2010 Premier League
, where he played against Phil Taylor. Taylor won 10–8, hitting two nine-dart finishes during the match.
Wade won the 2010 World Grand Prix
, beating Adrian Lewis
6–3 in the final. Four days later, he won his second major tournament inside a week by defeating Taylor 6–5 in the 2010 Championship League Darts
final.
Wade reached another major final in 2010 at the Grand Slam
, seeing both Terry Jenkins and Mervyn King squander match darts against him before Wade himself threw away an 8–0 lead against BDO player Scott Waites
as Waites won 16–12.
due to his Grand Prix and Champions League Darts victories as well as Taylor's slight dip in form. However, Wade was beaten by world number 47 Mensur Suljovic
4–2 in the second round. He got of to a poor start in the Premier League of Darts losing 8–3 to an on form Mark Webster
he went on to defeat World Champion Adrian Lewis 8–6 in week 2 and then lost 8–5 to Simon Whitlock
, during the match he took some stick from the Belfast crowd.
He regained some form in the latter weeks of the League drawing with Raymond Van Barneveld 7–7 while averaging over 100.
In June he won the 2011 UK Open Darts
title after an 11–8 win against Wes Newton
.
, Wade has adopted several in his short career so far. His first nickname, The Gladiator was changed following his nine-dart exploits in 2006 to 009 – a take on James Bond
's 007. This was used during the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship
.
In November 2007, during the 2007 Grand Slam of Darts
– he was introduced on television graphics as having "no nickname". In December 2007, following a competition which invited fans to provide him with a new nickname, Wade became known as Spectacular. A play on the fact that Wade is one of the few players who wears spectacles when he plays. For his Premier League debut in January 2008 he unveiled another nickname – "The Machine" which is now regarded as his permanent nickname and used in his walk on in all tournaments.
in a calendar year during 2006. They came at the North-West UK Open Regional Final in March, the PDPA Players Championship at Hayling Island in June and he completed his hat-trick at the Vauxhall Men's Open in November. None of these achievements were in televised competitions.
Wade came within one dart of achieving the first ever nine-darter with a double start at the 2007 World Grand Prix
in Dublin. In the semi-final against van Barneveld he hit double top to open the leg, then six treble 20s, treble 17 then missed a bullseye for a unique nine-darter.
On 20 November 2008, Wade completed his first live nine-darter hitting two 180s then T20, T19 and D12 against Gary Anderson
in the second round of the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts
which was shown on ITV4
. However, Anderson went on to win the match 10–8, therefore Wade became the first man to hit a nine-dart finish in a major televised tournament in the UK and then go on to lose the match. (Michael van Gerwen
had previously done so in a tournament on Dutch television.) Wade was also the first left-handed player to hit a live nine-darter.
Wade dated Soccer AM presenter Helen Chamberlain
but the pair split after roughly a year together. The pair had reportedly "drifted apart" from each other. Wade has admitted it hit him hard, affecting his darts.
Darts
Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...
player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation
Professional Darts Corporation
The Professional Darts Corporation is a professional darts organization, established in the United Kingdom during 1992, when a group of leading professional players split from the British Darts Organisation to form what was initially called the World Darts Council...
(PDC). He became the youngest player ever to win a major PDC title at the World Matchplay in July 2007. He has since won the 2007 World Grand Prix, the 2008 and 2011 UK Opens, the 2009 Premier League, the 2010 World Grand Prix and 2010 Championship League Darts, and has been at a career-high ranking of second in the PDC Order of Merit. James Wade is officially the second most successful player in PDC history, after Phil Taylor.
Early career
Wade reached the final of the British Classic in 2001 at the age of just 18, losing to John WaltonJohn Walton (darts player)
John Michael Walton is an English darts player who is a former World Champion. He has adopted the nickname The Boy and uses the song Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex as his walk-on theme.-Darts career:...
but the following year he won the Swiss Open and then made his television debut at the 2003 Lakeside World Championship
2003 BDO World Darts Championship
The 2003 Embassy World Professional Darts Championship was held between 4–12 January 2003 at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey. Notably, it was the last World Championship to be sponsored by Imperial Tobacco....
, but lost 2–3 in the first round to Dennis Harbour
Dennis Harbour
Dennis Harbour is an English darts player.Harbour played in the 1989 Winmau World Masters and lost in the first round to Dave Whitcombe. He returned to the Masters in 1994, again losing in the first round to Mike Gregory...
having missed eight darts to win the match in the fourth set. In other BDO Open events during 2003, he reached the Norway Open final, Belgian Open semi-finals and Dutch Open quarter finals.
At the 2004 Lakeside World Championship, he beat Shaun Greatbatch
Shaun Greatbatch
Shaun Greatbatch is an English darts player. He lives in Suffolk and works in the construction industry. His nickname is 9 Dart, having been the first player to hit a perfect nine dart finish on live television, in the final of the 2002 Dutch Open against Steve Coote.-Darts career:Shaun's family...
3–0 in the first round, before losing to Darryl Fitton
Darryl Fitton
Darryl Fitton is an English professional darts player currently playing in BDO events. He is nicknamed The Dazzler and comes to the stage dancing to the Madness song "One Step Beyond" wearing sunglasses. It is one of the most popular walk-ons with the audience...
in the second round. Later in 2004, he reached a series of quarter-finals including the German Open, the Isle of Man Open and the prestigious International Darts League
International Darts League
The Topic International Darts League was a darts tournament held at the Triavium in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Raymond van Barneveld dominated the tournament, held in his home country, winning it on three of the five occasions it was held...
in May – which was his last tournament as a BDO affiliated player.
PDC switch
In May 2004, despite having qualified for the final stages of many BDO tournaments, Wade took the decision to forfeit his automatic place in the 2004 World Darts TrophyWorld Darts Trophy
The World Darts Trophy was a darts tournament held each September at De Vechtsebanen in Utrecht, Netherlands between 2002 and 2007. The tournament has a playing format comparable with the two World Championships, the BDO World Darts Championship and the PDC World Darts Championship...
and 2005 BDO World Championship
2005 BDO World Darts Championship
-Women:Women's bracket:-External links:* *...
to join the Professional Darts Players Association (PDPA) and the PDC circuit.
He made his PDC World Darts Championship
PDC World Darts Championship
The PDC World Darts Championship is a world championship competition for the sport of darts, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation . It was introduced following a dispute in 1994 with the British Darts Organisation, which has run its own world championship since 1978...
début in 2005, losing in the first round to Mark Holden. He bounced back from this to win the Irish Masters in February and reach the last 16 of the UK Open later that year. He also qualified for the Las Vegas Desert Classic
Las Vegas Desert Classic
The Las Vegas Desert Classic was a darts tournament, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation and was held each year in July from 2002 until 2010...
(beating the experienced Ronnie Baxter
Ronnie Baxter
Ronnie Baxter is an English darts player. He uses the nickname The Rocket for his matches. Baxter is known for his fast, robotic throwing action...
) and the World Grand Prix during the year as well. He also qualified for the 2006 World Championship
2006 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2006 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was held from 19 December 2005 to 2 January 2006 at the Circus Tavern. It was the 13th staging of the Professional Darts Corporation's version of the World Championship....
, losing again in the first round, this time 3–2 to Wayne Jones
Wayne Jones (darts player)
Wayne Alan Jones is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments. He uses the nickname The Wanderer for his matches....
, who would go on to reach the semi-finals, despite having won the first six legs for a two-set lead.
Wade reached the last 16 of the 2007 PDC World Championship
2007 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2007 Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship was the 14th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The tournament began on Monday 18 December 2006 and the final was played on Monday 1 January 2007...
losing to Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins is an English professional darts player who is nicknamed The Bull, having previously used the nickname "Tucker" for his matches...
having earlier beaten New Zealand qualifier Warren French
Warren French
Warren French is a New Zealand darts player. He lives in Ashburton and uses the nickname Frog for his matches.French reached the final of the 2006 New Zealand Open, losing to former world champion Tony David. He played in the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship, losing 3-1 in the first round to James...
and Dave Ladley
Dave Ladley
Dave Ladley is an English darts player that currently competes in Professional Darts Corporation events.Ladley joined the PDC in 2002, and qualified for the 2004 UK Open, where he lost to Barrie Bates in the second round....
.
Major breakthrough
He made his major breakthrough on television during the 2006 World Matchplay2006 World Matchplay Darts
The 2006 Stan James World Matchplay was the 13th staging of the major darts tournament by the Professional Darts Corporation. It was held at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool between July 23 and July 29, 2006.-Prize money:...
in July. He sensationally reached the final, beating four experienced and respected darts players, in his first ever appearance at the Winter Gardens
Winter Gardens, Blackpool
The Winter Gardens is a large entertainment complex in the town centre of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It has twelve different venues, including a theatre, ballroom and conference facilities. Opened in 1878, it is a Grade II* listed building, incorporating various elements built between 1875 and...
. He beat Denis Ovens
Denis Ovens
Denis Ovens is an English darts player currently ranked number 29 in the PDC Order of Merit. He is nicknamed The Heat and is now based in Stevenage. Ovens is widely regarded as one of the most consistent players in the circuit, though he has as yet failed to convert his form from the circuit to...
in the first round 10–1, having had darts to make it a 10–0 whitewash. In the second round he beat former World Championship finalist Kevin Painter
Kevin Painter
Kevin Painter is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, where he is known as "The Artist"...
13–9, ending one leg with two double-20s to cause a minor controversy, and beat Chris Mason
Chris Mason (darts player)
Christopher John Mason is an English darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He uses the nickname Mace the Ace for his matches.- BDO and first PDC spell :...
16–4 in his quarter-final. In the semi-finals he came back from 1–5 down to beat Roland Scholten
Roland Scholten
Roland Scholten is a Dutch professional darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation and formerly for the British Darts Organisation. He is nicknamed Tripod or The Flying Dutchman and uses Hey Ya by Outkast as his walk-on. He is currently ranked 45th in the PDC...
19–17 in a tiebreaker, which requires the winner to win by two clear legs. In the final he played Phil Taylor but despite being 8–5 up, he lost 18–11.
He then returned to Blackpool in 2007 to claim the title – his first major televised tournament success and became the youngest player ever to win a PDC televised event in doing so. His route to the title and £50,000 cheque saw him beat Wayne Jones
Wayne Jones (darts player)
Wayne Alan Jones is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments. He uses the nickname The Wanderer for his matches....
, Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley is an English professional darts player. He has won two world championships, and was the first player to win both the BDO and WDC world championships, in 1991 and 1994 respectively...
, Mervyn King, Adrian Lewis
Adrian Lewis
Adrian Lewis is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation who is the reigning PDC World Darts Champion...
and Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins is an English professional darts player who is nicknamed The Bull, having previously used the nickname "Tucker" for his matches...
(who beat Taylor in the semi-final) in the final.
Although Wade's victory was nothing short of emphatic over the ever-tenacious Jenkins, many believe his semi-final victory over Lewis was one of the finest performances ever seen at the Winter Gardens . He consistently checked out ton-plus scores whilst Lewis, fresh from defeating world champion Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld , nickname Barney is a professional darts player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one ranked player...
, having a 3-dart average of over 100, was unable to keep up with the fast-improving Wade.
Wade also won the next PDC major tournament – the 2007 World Grand Prix
2007 World Grand Prix Darts
The 2007 SkyBet World Grand Prix was the tenth staging of a PDC darts tournament which took place between October 8 and October 14. It was the seventh year that the event was being staged at the Citywest Hotel, Saggart, Dublin...
in Dublin in October beating van Barneveld by 5 sets to 1 in the semi-final and repeating his Blackpool success over Jenkins in the final.
Wade's aforementioned successes in 2007 were rewarded with him winning the 2007 PDC Player of the Year. Wade became the second recipient of this award, following in the footsteps of Taylor in 2006. He was presented with it at the annual PDC Awards Dinner in January 2008.
Wade reached the quarter-finals of the 2008 PDC World Championship, being defeated 5 sets to 4 in a close encounter against John Part
John Part
John Part is a Canadian professional darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple.Part is one of only five players in darts history to be a three time World Champion...
, who went on to win the tournament.
In January 2008, Wade became the first player to defeat Taylor in the Premier League, winning the match 8 legs to 6. Taylor however exacted revenge with a 16–8 victory in the final on 26 May 2008 after Wade had defeated van Barneveld in the semi-final.
On 8 June 2008, Wade beat American Gary Mawson
Gary Mawson
Gary Mawson is a Canadian-born American darts player, who currently resides in North Royalton, Ohio, United States. He moved from Niagara Falls to Ohio to further increase his chances of success on the growing American darts circuit. He uses the nickname The Mauler for his matches...
11–7 in the final to win the 2008 UK Open, claiming his third major trophy within a year. The following month, he reached the finals of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, losing 13–7 to Taylor. Then in July reached his 3rd World Matchplay final in a row, losing for the 2nd time in 3 years in the final to Taylor 18–9, making this the 3rd major final loss of the year against Taylor.
In the 2009 PDC World Championship, Wade reached a stage further than the previous year, reaching the semi-finals before losing 4–6 to van Barneveld.
Wade won the 2009 Premier League Darts
2009 Premier League Darts
The 2009 Whyte & Mackay Premier League was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation.The tournament kicked off at the Echo Arena Liverpool which hosted the biggest ever crowd for a PDC event of almost 8,000 in 2008....
tournament, defeating Mervyn King 13–8 at the Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
. However, he failed to defend his UK Open title in 2009 after losing to Peter Manley
Peter Manley
Peter David Manley is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He is nicknamed One Dart as he is known for hitting doubles with his first dart...
9–8 in the third round. He then failed to reach the World Matchplay final for the first time, losing in the quarter-finals to Ronnie Baxter
Ronnie Baxter
Ronnie Baxter is an English darts player. He uses the nickname The Rocket for his matches. Baxter is known for his fast, robotic throwing action...
.
Wade lost to an on-fire Simon Whitlock
Simon Whitlock
Simon Whitlock is an Australian professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, although he did have a spell playing in the rival organisation, the British Darts Organisation. He uses the nickname The Wizard for his matches...
in the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Championship
2010 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2010 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 17th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation....
. Whitlock won 5–3 in sets.
Defending his Premier League title, Wade reached the final of the 2010 Premier League
2010 Premier League Darts
The 2010 Whyte & Mackay Premier League was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation; the sixth such running of the tournament.The tournament began at The O2 Arena in London on 11 February, and finished at the Wembley Arena on 24 May....
, where he played against Phil Taylor. Taylor won 10–8, hitting two nine-dart finishes during the match.
Wade won the 2010 World Grand Prix
2010 World Grand Prix Darts
The 2010 Bodog.com World Grand Prix was the thirteenth staging of the World Grand Prix. It was played from 4 October to 10 October.James Wade won his second World Grand Prix title, defeating Adrian Lewis in the final. Defending champion Phil Taylor was aiming to win his tenth World Grand Prix, but...
, beating Adrian Lewis
Adrian Lewis
Adrian Lewis is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation who is the reigning PDC World Darts Champion...
6–3 in the final. Four days later, he won his second major tournament inside a week by defeating Taylor 6–5 in the 2010 Championship League Darts
2010 Championship League Darts
The 2010 Championship League Darts was the third edition of a darts competition — the Championship League Darts. The competition is organized and held by the Professional Darts Corporation, with the 2010 edition having a maximum prize fund of £189,000....
final.
Wade reached another major final in 2010 at the Grand Slam
2010 Grand Slam of Darts
The 2010 Grand Slam of Darts was the fourth staging of the darts tournament, the Grand Slam of Darts organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place from 13–21 November 2010 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall. Television coverage of the tournament was covered by ITV Sport, with...
, seeing both Terry Jenkins and Mervyn King squander match darts against him before Wade himself threw away an 8–0 lead against BDO player Scott Waites
Scott Waites
Scott Waites is an English professional darts player who plays in tournaments organised by the British Darts Organisation.-Darts career:...
as Waites won 16–12.
2011 Season
Despite the loss at the Grand Slam, Wade was touted by many as the favourite to win the 2011 World Championship2011 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2011 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 18th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation.Phil Taylor was the defending champion, having won the 2010 tournament...
due to his Grand Prix and Champions League Darts victories as well as Taylor's slight dip in form. However, Wade was beaten by world number 47 Mensur Suljovic
Mensur Suljovic
Mensur Suljović is a Serbian-born Austrian darts player. He plays for the Professional Darts Corporation and previously played for the British Darts Organisation. He was also one of the top players in the German Darts Corporation where he won three events in 2007...
4–2 in the second round. He got of to a poor start in the Premier League of Darts losing 8–3 to an on form Mark Webster
Mark Webster (darts player)
Mark Webster is a left-handed Welsh darts player who lives in Denbigh. Known as Webby, he plays in Professional Darts Corporation events, having previously won the 2008 BDO World Championship. Mark became a full time professional in 2009, having previously been a fully qualified Gas registered...
he went on to defeat World Champion Adrian Lewis 8–6 in week 2 and then lost 8–5 to Simon Whitlock
Simon Whitlock
Simon Whitlock is an Australian professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, although he did have a spell playing in the rival organisation, the British Darts Organisation. He uses the nickname The Wizard for his matches...
, during the match he took some stick from the Belfast crowd.
He regained some form in the latter weeks of the League drawing with Raymond Van Barneveld 7–7 while averaging over 100.
In June he won the 2011 UK Open Darts
2011 UK Open Darts
The 2011 Speedy Hire UK Open was the ninth year of the PDC darts tournament where, following numerous regional qualifying heats throughout Britain, players competed in a single elimination tournament to be crowned champion...
title after an 11–8 win against Wes Newton
Wes Newton
Wesley "Wes" Newton is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments.-Darts career:...
.
Nicknames
Whilst it is somewhat traditional for a darts player to adopt a sobriquetSobriquet
A sobriquet is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. It is usually a familiar name, distinct from a pseudonym assumed as a disguise, but a nickname which is familiar enough such that it can be used in place of a real name without the need of explanation...
, Wade has adopted several in his short career so far. His first nickname, The Gladiator was changed following his nine-dart exploits in 2006 to 009 – a take on James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
's 007. This was used during the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship
2007 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2007 Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship was the 14th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The tournament began on Monday 18 December 2006 and the final was played on Monday 1 January 2007...
.
In November 2007, during the 2007 Grand Slam of Darts
2007 Grand Slam of Darts
The 2007 Grand Slam of Darts was the inaugural staging of the darts tournament, the Grand Slam of Darts, held by the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament invited the best performing players from the PDC and its rival the British Darts Organisation...
– he was introduced on television graphics as having "no nickname". In December 2007, following a competition which invited fans to provide him with a new nickname, Wade became known as Spectacular. A play on the fact that Wade is one of the few players who wears spectacles when he plays. For his Premier League debut in January 2008 he unveiled another nickname – "The Machine" which is now regarded as his permanent nickname and used in his walk on in all tournaments.
Nine dart finishes
He became the first player to hit three tournament nine-dart finishesNine dart finish
A nine-dart finish is the ultimate checkout in the game of darts, constituting a perfect game. It is notoriously difficult to achieve, even by the game's top professionals...
in a calendar year during 2006. They came at the North-West UK Open Regional Final in March, the PDPA Players Championship at Hayling Island in June and he completed his hat-trick at the Vauxhall Men's Open in November. None of these achievements were in televised competitions.
Wade came within one dart of achieving the first ever nine-darter with a double start at the 2007 World Grand Prix
2007 World Grand Prix Darts
The 2007 SkyBet World Grand Prix was the tenth staging of a PDC darts tournament which took place between October 8 and October 14. It was the seventh year that the event was being staged at the Citywest Hotel, Saggart, Dublin...
in Dublin. In the semi-final against van Barneveld he hit double top to open the leg, then six treble 20s, treble 17 then missed a bullseye for a unique nine-darter.
On 20 November 2008, Wade completed his first live nine-darter hitting two 180s then T20, T19 and D12 against Gary Anderson
Gary Anderson (darts player)
Gary Anderson is a Scottish professional darts player from Eyemouth, Scottish Borders, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation, and a former BDO and WDF world number one. His nickname is The Flying Scotsman...
in the second round of the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts
2008 Grand Slam of Darts
The 2008 Grand Slam of Darts was the second staging of the darts tournament, the Grand Slam of Darts organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place from 15–23 November 2008 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall...
which was shown on ITV4
ITV4
ITV4 is a British television station which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a male-oriented line-up, including sport, cop shows and US comedies and dramas, as well as classic ITV action...
. However, Anderson went on to win the match 10–8, therefore Wade became the first man to hit a nine-dart finish in a major televised tournament in the UK and then go on to lose the match. (Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen is a Dutch professional darts player, nicknamed Mighty Mike. He is the youngest player in history to win a major televised tournament in either the BDO or the PDC, winning the 2006 Winmau World Masters at the age of 17...
had previously done so in a tournament on Dutch television.) Wade was also the first left-handed player to hit a live nine-darter.
Outside darts
Wade quit his job at a garage in Aldershot twelve days before the World Matchplay 2006, to concentrate on becoming a full-time professional darts player.Wade dated Soccer AM presenter Helen Chamberlain
Helen Chamberlain
Helen Marie Chamberlain is an English television presenter.She previously worked as a holiday camp entertainer and Disc Jockey before working on a variety of radio and television programmes...
but the pair split after roughly a year together. The pair had reportedly "drifted apart" from each other. Wade has admitted it hit him hard, affecting his darts.
World Championship Performances
- 2003 (BDO) – First Round lost to Dennis HarbourDennis HarbourDennis Harbour is an English darts player.Harbour played in the 1989 Winmau World Masters and lost in the first round to Dave Whitcombe. He returned to the Masters in 1994, again losing in the first round to Mike Gregory...
2–3 - 2004 (BDO) – Second Round lost to Darryl FittonDarryl FittonDarryl Fitton is an English professional darts player currently playing in BDO events. He is nicknamed The Dazzler and comes to the stage dancing to the Madness song "One Step Beyond" wearing sunglasses. It is one of the most popular walk-ons with the audience...
1–3 - 2005 (PDC) – First Round lost to Mark Holden 0–3
- 2006 (PDC) – First Round lost to Wayne JonesWayne Jones (darts player)Wayne Alan Jones is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments. He uses the nickname The Wanderer for his matches....
2–3 - 2007 (PDC) – Third Round lost to Terry JenkinsTerry JenkinsTerry Jenkins is an English professional darts player who is nicknamed The Bull, having previously used the nickname "Tucker" for his matches...
3–4 - 2008 (PDC) – Quarter-finalist lost to John PartJohn PartJohn Part is a Canadian professional darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple.Part is one of only five players in darts history to be a three time World Champion...
4-5 - 2009 (PDC) – Semi-finalist lost to Raymond van BarneveldRaymond van BarneveldRaymond van Barneveld , nickname Barney is a professional darts player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one ranked player...
4–6 - 2010 (PDC) – Quarter-finalist lost to Simon WhitlockSimon WhitlockSimon Whitlock is an Australian professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, although he did have a spell playing in the rival organisation, the British Darts Organisation. He uses the nickname The Wizard for his matches...
3–5 - 2011 (PDC) – Second Round lost to Mensur SuljovicMensur SuljovicMensur Suljović is a Serbian-born Austrian darts player. He plays for the Professional Darts Corporation and previously played for the British Darts Organisation. He was also one of the top players in the German Darts Corporation where he won three events in 2007...
2–4
PDC premier event finals: 13 (7 titles, 6 runner-ups)
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