James Wade Called Out by Opponent for Onstage and Backstage Conduct After Match

James Wade has been called out by his opponent following his victory at the Winmau Darts Masters.

On Thursday, round one matches at the 2026 Winmau World Masters were played at the Arena MK in Milton Keynes, UK.

The likes of Gary Anderson, Nathan Aspinall, Jonny Clayton, Gerwyn Price and Gian van Veen all secured their places in the next round.

However, there was a shock result, with Damon Heta beating five-time winner Michael van Gerwen 3-1.

Meanwhile, Wade sealed passage to the second round by getting the better of Latvian Madars Razma, winning 3-2.

Taking to social media after the match, Razma appeared far from happy with the crowd, as well as Wade.

He wrote: "Yes, I come from a small country and I'm not a Major champion in darts, but I'm not sure if I deserved the booing from crowd and the handshake like this on stage and backstage tonight.

"Anyway.. It is what it is.. Looking forward for the next tournaments in Germany."

Image: X/@MadarsRazma

Speaking after the match, Wade spoke about the importance of going far in the Masters.

He said: "It's as important as all the others, we'll just see what happens.

"I had a disappointing back-end to last year, I didn't get the pick for anything, had a disappointing World Championship, but I had a bloody good year."

Wade added: "So it's kind of hard to gather ground and gather a bit of momentum even though I was good last year, so it's a game of restarting."

Earlier in the month, Wade criticised the PDC after being overlooked for his year's Premier League.

Taking to social media, 'The Machine' wrote: "Hard work pays off... really?

"Disappointed, but proud of the work I put in this year chasing one goal getting back to the Premier League. Missing out hurts, but that's part of the journey.

"I trusted my performances in the big moments, two major finals and two major quarter-finals and I'll keep backing that process. Back to work now. 2026, I'll be ready."

On Friday, the likes of Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Stephen Bunting and Ryan Searle will be in Masters action.