WADE EYES PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN
04/03/2025 By Aaron Nijjar
By Aaron Nijjar
JAMES WADE believes he will be back in the Premier League next year.
‘The Machine’ also labelled two picks for the Premier League as “about something bigger than darts.”
Ten-time major winner Wade had a superb run on his way to the UK Open final beating Cameron Menzies, Rob Owen, and World No. 1 Luke Humphries 10-9 in the quarter-final.
World No.12 Wade smashed in 10 maximums, averaged 99.89 and hit over fifty percent of his doubles in a wonderful performance to beat ‘Cool Hand’.
The 41-year-old defeated Josh Rock in the semi-final 11-2 to reach his 27th major final.
However, Wade then lost to the World champion Luke Littler in the final and became the first player to win just two legs in a UK Open final.
Following his victories, Wade now believes he can secure a place in next year’s Premier League lineup.
He said: “I want to be back in the Premier League and I think I will be back in the Premier League in the next 12 months.
“But I’ve got to do something drastic to earn that and justify that.
“I’m not going to get what some players get by a dust-off and an invitation. I’ve got to stamp my rights down. I am capable of it, 100 per cent.
“I screwed up last year, I think the Premier League was open for a lot of players.”
This season’s line-up consists of reigning champ Littler, Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price, Nathan Aspinall, Chris Dobey and Stephen Bunting.
Dobey and Bunting came in for Michael Smith and Peter Wright as Price and Aspinall kept their places which sparked controversy.
The Surrey thrower has his theories as to why certain individuals make the cut and others don’t.
He added: “I think two players that got in were probably because they are part of something that’s bigger than darts.
“But I think if I’d had a good World Championships, which I haven’t had for three years, I would have had a real good chance of getting in.
“No one gave the PDC or Sky any other reason than to put two guys who controversially should or shouldn’t have been in it.”
Wade won the Premier League in 2009, one of his 12 appearances between 2008 and 2022.
Image by Taylor Lanning.
