James Wade Aims 'Dig' at PDC Rivals as New Premier League Season Gets Underway

James Wade has again insisted that only two players deserved selection for the Premier League more than he did after not being picked by the PDC.

Wade reached the final of the UK Open and the World Matchplay events in 2025, losing to Luke Littler on both occasions.

He also made four European Tour semi-finals and won an event on the ProTour.

But that wasn't enough for 'The Machine' to be invited to take part in the Premier League for the first time since 2022.

Wade is one of only seven players to have lifted the Premier League title, having done so back in 2009.

Since his exclusion was confirmed last month, the 42-year-old has repeatedly argued his case for why he should have been picked.

Last week, he said he spoke to his wife and ruled out the possibility that the PDC's decision was because he was either 'overweight', 'old', or 'not great looking'.

James Wade won the Premier League in 2009 (Image: Getty)

In his column for the Daily Star, meanwhile, Wade admitted that the 2026 World Championship - which saw him eliminated in round two by Ricky Evans - was 'somewhat of a curse for me'.

"The PDC seems to focus solely on the World Championship and overlook the previous 11 months," he added.

Since then, Wade has started 2026 with a run to the quarter-finals of the World Masters.

'The Machine' defeated Madars Razma and Gary Anderson before losing to World Championship runner-up Gian van Veen.

Now, in his latest column for the Daily Star, published on Thursday afternoon, Wade says that only Littler and Luke Humphries held better arguments to be picked in this year's Premier League.

"Reaching the quarter-finals [of the World Masters] is a strong start to the year, and I'm particularly excited about the upcoming UK Open, a tournament where I've claimed victory three times in the past," he wrote.

"I can feel the competitive spirit building, and I know there's much more to come.

Wade was runner-up in the 2025 UK Open (pictured) and World Matchplay (Image: Getty)

"I can't shake the feeling that the PDC may be reconsidering their stance on my exclusion from the Premier League Darts once again.

"I find myself constantly measuring my accomplishments against many players in the field, but aside from Luke Littler and Luke Humphries, I've consistently reached the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals of major televised tournaments."

PDC chief executive Matt Porter told Metro on Thursday that every player was in consideration 'obviously only to a point', before specifically mentioning Wade.

"James started the year really, really well, then faded away," Porter said.

"He was runner-up at the UK, runner-up at the World Matchplay and then had a more disappointing year after that, first round defeats in four tournaments and two quarter-finals.

"So there were players who outperformed him in the second half of the year."