WADE BLASTS HOSTILE GRAZ CROWD

JAMES WADE blasted the Austrian Darts Open crowd as “pretty s***y” after dumping home favourite Mensur Suljovic out of the tournament.

The Machine produced a stunning display to beat Suljovic 6-2 and book his place in round three, firing in a huge 103.20 average and landing six of his ten doubles.  

The world No.6 was heavily jeered throughout the contest but responded in classy fashion by pinning three ton-plus checkouts to fire himself to victory in Graz.  

Wade aimed his frustration firmly at the hostile atmosphere, insisting fans caused him more problems than his opponent himself.  

He said: “Oh, Mensur wasn’t the problem, was he? It was the crowd. But yeah, Mensur is easily dealt with and so is the crowd.

“I think it was pretty s***y to be fair, the crowd weren’t respectful. Mensur wasn’t great but the better player out of the two of us won, so it’s all good.”

Wade was then asked how popular he thinks he is as a darts player and joked: “More popular than some.   

“Probably a little bit more popular than Mensur right now because I’ve just beaten him, so they’ve got to be my fans now, right?”  

The Aldershot slinger has enjoyed a brilliant year so far, reaching the final of the UK Open and winning Players Championship One.  

Wade addressed his recent increase in social media activity after some fans suggested he could be trying to strengthen his case for a Premier League return.  

But Wade insisted the real reason is much closer to home.  

He continued: “I’m doing it for my children, really for memories.  

“I’ve also got something called Bullsite that we’re going to start up again.

“I’m going to start having a bit more fun and not be so serious all the time.  

“I’ve got my best friend, Lee Spooner, involved as well, so we’re going to have a lot of fun with it and see where it goes. I’m just how I am.

“The most important thing to me is family. The second most important thing to me is family.  

“And the third most important thing to me is probably charity and raising awareness for mental health.  

“Unfortunately, in the world we live in now, not enough people recognise it and really understand it.  

“So that’s my job. That’s what I was put on here to do.”  

Wade returns to action on Sunday afternoon and will face Luke Woodhouse for spot in the quarter-final at the Euro Tour event.