James Wade has revealed that he believes he was omitted from the 2026 Premier League Darts line-up for several reasons unrelated to darts.
Wade, who won the 2009 edition of the Premier League, missed out on selection for this year’s tournament, which gets underway on February 5 in Newcastle.
PDC World Darts Championship winner and world number one Luke Littler will headline the event with Gian van Veen, Luke Humphries, and Michael van Gerwen qualifying as the current top four players in the world rankings.
Meanwhile, wildcards Jonny Clayton, Josh Rock, Gerwyn Price and Stephen Bunting also made the cut for the 16-week tournament after being chosen by the PDC.
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However, Wade will not be taking part in the tournament despite believing that he deserved a spot.
The Englishman, who has 11 majors to his name, opened up about his omission when speaking at a post-match press conference following his 3-2 win over Madars Razma at the World Masters on Thursday (January 29).
After admitting that he had a disappointing end to 2025, Wade said: "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.
"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."
‘The Machine’ then suggested that Premier League selection should solely be based off performances rather than where “someone has to pick you”.
Wade will now prepare for his World Masters second round clash with Gary Anderson on Friday (January 30).
The 42-year-old has not won a PDC major title since triumphing at the 2021 UK Open.
Topics: Darts, Luke Littler
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