James Wade names surprise part of darts he'd 'miss' ahead of PDC record-equalling Grand Slam appearance
"I think I'm a goldfish - I keep going around and forget what I've done and just keep doing it again." The words of James Wade, who is preparing to take part in his record-equalling 19th Grand Slam of Darts starting this weekend.
They are the words of a darts player who stands among some of the most successful players of the modern era. He's a two-time World Grand Prix winner. A three-time UK Open winner. A Premier League winner. A World Matchplay winner. A European Championship winner. A 28-time ProTour event winner. He might not quite have conquered as many worlds as Alexander The Great and Eric Bristow but, as Sid Waddell's iconic saying went, Wade is only 43. And, in the world of darts, he's still standing, as his iconic walk-on song by Elton John goes.
"I don't know if I'm a glutton for punishment," Wade tells SPORTbible (via 247Bet) of his 22-year career in the PDC; he spent three years in the BDO beforehand. "I think because I'm not super confident and I don't lose where I am or what I'm doing, I'm still happy to go and dig a hole. I'm still happy to go and work on a car. I'm still happy to do the stuff that a lot of players probably won't do.
"And sometimes, when you're digging a hole, or you're carrying loads of stuff about, or doing something that's not very pleasant, [I think], 'Oh, darts ain't that bad. I'll do that, and I get paid to do that. I think I'll keep doing that'. And I think that's a good reminder.
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"You do the normal stuff. You know, why wouldn't I? I've still got the same mentality. This is probably why I'm a busy idiot. Why would I pay someone to do that when I can do that particular thing myself?
"I think that helps with my relationship with darts as well, because you get paid for it and you think, 'Wow, that's a lot of money for playing darts'. And that's one of the reasons why I still do it."
There is, though, one aspect of the sport he 'would miss' if he stopped playing - and it might be the last thing you would expect: "I also think, as much as I moan about it, I think I would miss the travelling. I would miss getting on a train, a plane, a car, a taxi, even though I moan about it constantly. I think I would miss it."
'No-one respects the higher-ranked players ... the game is a better standard now'
When you think of Wade, one of the first words that comes to mind is doubles. Only two players on the ProTour this season - Sebastian Bialecki and Wessel Nijman - have a better checkout percentage than Wade's 43.24 per cent. When you see him needing double 10 to win a leg, for instance, you could turn away from the TV and just wait for the 'game shot' call from the match referee.
Wade says his scoring is 'just as good as anyone's when I'm playing my better game', having admitted during the World Grand Prix that he has had to play better when he comes up against stronger opponents.
"I think the standard of the game has evolved," he says. "I think there's three parts of it. You've got the high end, you've got everyone, and then you've got the back end that are making the numbers up - it sounds really rude, but I'm going to use that term.
"Those players, now, can all average 100. Every player in every room can average 100, with probably the exception of a few. A couple, maybe. But they can all average 100. No-one respects any of the higher-ranked players. Everyone's fair game, and it's a completely different game from what it was 20, 25 years ago. Twenty-five years ago, people were worried about certain players. They did worry about playing higher-ranked players.
"Now, they can all hit doubles. Everyone can hit doubles, everyone can score 180s, everyone can hit nine-darters, everyone can take 170 out. Everyone can do the same. It's just who does it more consistently and who does it better under pressure. That is the difference. There aren't any real weaknesses out there anymore.
"There used to be weak players, but it doesn't exist anymore. And that's why the game is a better standard now, because everyone takes it more seriously as well. There's more money involved, so people can actually quit their jobs.
"It's more achievable for people to treat it as a more professional game, because there's more money involved. And if you get time to treat it professionally, there's going to be more professionals, isn't there? And there's going to be better players."
Wade on PDC crowd whistling
Wade is similarly philosophical when it comes to talking about PDC crowds - in particular the crowd whistling complaints that have been raised by other players.
"I think crowds used to be worse years ago," he believes. "The whistling is bloody annoying. I don't know why they do it. It's like, you pay all that money for your food and your tickets, and some of them have a good drink as well. They spend all that money just to get into the venue, and get themselves thrown out. Well that's a bit of a silly billy, isn't it, to do that? In my opinion.
"I think the refs are less active now in actually doing anything about crowd control. I think they're more worried about upsetting people rather than getting on and doing what they could do. I think the PDC have upped their management of removing or moving people."
"There was an incident a little while ago where I got the hump with someone because he was shouting," Wade continues, referencing a match between himself and Luke Humphries at the World Grand Prix in October. "Luke said he wasn't, but he was shouting just before I was about to throw a dart, saying, 'Come on, Luke! Come on, Luke!'
"So he was shouting, this bloke, and I turned around and I said, 'Why don't you shut up?' And I pointed at him, and I just wanted the security to go and have a word with him. Luke said he got thrown out - he didn't get thrown out. He moved to the back of the hall, because he was being a bit silly. A bit like children do at assembly at school, isn't it? The naughty child - which was normally me, back then - gets sent to the back of the room. And that's what happened there. I didn't want him thrown out, I just wanted him told to stop being silly.
READ MORE: Luke Humphries breaks silence on fan incident during World Grand Prix match vs James Wade
"I always make a silly comparison. I wouldn't go to someone's car and put nails under his tyres before he went to work, because I think that would be really unfair to influence someone having a bad day at work. If you were getting paid to do whatever you were getting paid to do on a day, I wouldn't go and stop you or interrupt or create a bad thing for you whilst you're working, because it's not fair for one person to affect another person's earnings like that. That's not what happens, and unfortunately there are a few idiots who think it is acceptable to do that, and it really isn't.
"I know it's a pantomime and I know they're having fun, but they need to rein it in sometimes. Do I think the crowds are that bad? No. I don't. There's always one idiot, but there's one idiot in every room, isn't there? It's normally me."
So to the Grand Slam, where Wade has been drawn in a group with Ricky Evans and Cam Crabtree. He's not yet won the Grand Slam in his career - three runners-up finishes represent his furthest run in the tournament since it began in 2007. He's only missed it once, in 2021.
The Aldershot dartist says he still feels the nerves before any major event - but is feeling confident about his chances.
"I feel my form's been good. It's been good for probably two years now. Although right now, it's probably been the worst it's been, in the last three weeks," he laughs. "But I'm confident. I'm feeling alright. Probably not as confident or playing as well as I was three months ago.
"I've had a lot going on, but that's my own choice. We all take projects on, and we get bored, don't we, because we think there's not enough going on, and then we take too much on. We go, 'I'm not doing this again'. And then it's just a life cycle that we all go through isn't it? We take too much on, and then we think, 'Oh, I'm going to have to calm down', and then you do it again and again.
"Apart from that, yeah, I'm feeling confident as always, and a bit nervous. I just want to play. I just want to get the tournament started, so we can stop thinking about what might happen and we know what's happening, win or lose."
Wade will take to the oche on Saturday night when he faces Crabtree; the two will meet for just the third time in their PDC careers.
Ryan Smart
