James Wade given Premier League lifeline by darts star as format change suggested
Luke Humphries has backed James Wade to make a stunning return to the Premier League Darts should the competition go through a major revamp.
The Premier League Darts resumes on Thursday for Night Three in Glasgow.
Michael van Gerwen won Night One before he was beaten in the final by Gerwyn Price on Night Two.
Ahead of the action getting underway in Scotland, Luke Littler has received a bye following Van Gerwen’s withdrawal.
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The quarter-final ties sees Stephen Bunting take on Gian van Veen, Jonny Clayton face Price, not to mention Humphries vs. Josh Rock.
This year’s competition includes debutants Van Veen, who reached the 2026 World Darts Championship final, and Rock.
Humphries has hailed the standard of darts when sharing his thoughts on Van Veen and Rock’s selection and urged for an expanded field to reflect the healthy nature of the sport, name-dropping Wade.
"I think it’s the best. The additions of Gian [van Veen] and Josh [Rock], two really heavy scorers, are going to make it exciting for me," says Humphries. “It is going to be challenging for us all because when you have heavy scorers, they can take the game away from you very quickly," he told Darts News.
"The additions of Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton, who is one of the best double hitters in the world, and Stephen Bunting make it a great lineup."
Humphries added: "It’s a great lineup of players. The way the standard is going, I would be adamant to up it to a few more players because it is so hard to pick.
"Danny [Noppert], James [Wade] and Nathan [Aspinall] are all players who could have been in it."
Wade, who won the 2009 competition, hasn't featured in the Premier League Darts since his campaign in 2022 when he reached the play-offs, losing to eventual winner Van Gerwen in the semi-finals.
James Wade speaks out on 2026 Premier League Darts exclusion
Wade has been snubbed of a spot in the Premier League Darts for the last four editions of the competition.
On his latest omission, Wade expressed his disappointment at missing out on selection, saying: "Of course [it’s disappointing to miss out on Premier League selection], there are only three players that did better than me [in 2025].
"So the statistics and stats don't lie... I said to my wife, 'Is it because I'm overweight?' No, because there's someone else that's this size.
"'Is it because I'm old'?, No, because there's someone else that's there, 'Is it because I'm not great looking?', No, because there's some others that are not-so-great looking.
"So it's just obviously the way I am, I'm quite awkward as a character."
The 42-year-old added: "It's hard to chew when you have the condition that I have [Bipolar disorder], as it's a complete kick in the privates and really knocks your confidence.
"It knocks you for six, as there's no apparent reason why I shouldn't have been in.
"But as a business, I wasn't in their model, which is fair enough.
"But for someone with mental illness, it's quite hard to chew."
Topics: Darts
Nasir Jabbar