James Wade

In May 2004, Wade took the decision to forfeit his automatic place in the 2004 World Darts Trophy and 2005 BDO World Championship to join the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).[2] His first PDC major was the 2004 UK Open, where he was edged out 8–7 in the fourth round by Colin Lloyd.[7] He came through the World Championship Qualifiers to make his PDC World Darts Championship debut in 2005,[8] losing 3–0 in the first round to Mark Holden.[9] Wade bounced back from this to win the Irish Masters and moved closer to the top 32 in the world for the first time.[2] He lost 11–4 to Peter Manley in the last 16 of the UK Open and 3–1 against Roland Scholten in the last 16 of the Las Vegas Desert Classic (after beating the experienced Ronnie Baxter in the prior round).[10][11] In his second World Championship appearance he lost again in the first round, this time 3–2 to Wayne Jones, despite having won the first six legs for a two-set lead.[2]

Wade in 2007

Wade hit two nine-dart finishes in the early part of 2006, but when he was defeated in the qualifiers for the Las Vegas Desert Classic he decided to give up his job as a mechanic and become a full-time darts professional.[2] The results of this were evident almost immediately as he made his major breakthrough on television during the 2006 World Matchplay in July. He sensationally reached the final, seeing off four experienced players in his first ever appearance at the Winter Gardens. Wade beat Denis Ovens in the first round 10–1, having had darts to make it a 10–0 whitewash, 2004 World Championship finalist Kevin Painter 13–9 in the second round, ending one leg with two double 20's to cause a minor controversy, and beat Chris Mason 16–4 in his quarter-final. In the semi-finals he came back from 1–5 down to beat Roland Scholten 19–17 in extra legs, as a player is required to win the match by two clear legs in the Matchplay. In the final he played Phil Taylor but despite being 8–5 up, he lost 18–11.[12][13] In the rest of 2006 in the non-televised events he reached three semi-finals and a final, before he won the Vauxhall Men's Singles by defeating Ronnie Baxter 5–3 in the final, having hit his third nine-darter of the year in the semi-finals of the event.[14]

Wade won his first matches in the PDC World Championship in 2007 by beating Warren French and Dave Ladley to reach the last 16, where Terry Jenkins was a 4–3 victor.[15] He was then awarded with the PDC's Young Player of the Year and his world ranking had climbed to number 11.[2]

He then returned to Blackpool for the World Matchplay and claimed the title – his first major televised tournament success and became the youngest player ever to win a PDC televised event in doing so.[16] His route to the title and £50,000 cheque saw him beat Wayne Jones, Dennis Priestley, Mervyn King, Adrian Lewis and Terry Jenkins in the final.[17] Although Wade's victory was nothing short of emphatic over the ever-tenacious Jenkins, many believe his semi-final victory over Lewis was one of the finest performances ever seen at the Winter Gardens. Both players averaged 101, but it was Wade's finishing, as he checked out almost 70% of his doubles, which saw him triumph 17–7.[18] His 18–7 win over Jenkins in the final saw him move up to world number three.[19] Wade also won the next PDC major tournament – the World Grand Prix in Dublin in October beating van Barneveld by 5 sets to 1 in the semi-finals and once again denying Jenkins his first major title in the final by winning 6–3.[20] These successes saw Wade being crowned the 2007 PDC Player of the Year and PDPA Players' Player of the Year.[2]

At the 2008 World Championship Wade reached the quarter-finals and was defeated 5 sets to 4 in a close encounter against John Part, who went on to win the tournament.[21] Wade made his debut in the Premier League as he was in the top four of the Order of Merit and on the opening night became the first player to defeat Taylor in the tournament's three-year history, winning the match 8 legs to 6. Taylor however exacted revenge with a 16–8 victory in the final on 26 May 2008 after Wade had defeated van Barneveld in the semi-finals.[2] Incredibly, Wade claimed his third major title in a year at the UK Open, by beating American Gary Mawson 11–7 in the final.[22] The following month, he reached the finals of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, losing 13–7 to Taylor.[23] Then in July he reached his third World Matchplay final in a row, losing for the second time in three years in the final to Taylor 18–9, making this the third major final loss of the year against Taylor.[24] In the defence of his World Grand Prix title he lost to Tony Eccles in the first round.[25] He returned to form to claim two Players Championship titles in the autumn and also hit his first televised nine-darter in a second round loss to Gary Anderson at the Grand Slam of Darts.[2]

In the 2009 World Championship, Wade went a stage further than the previous year, reaching the semi-finals where he lost 4–6 to Raymond van Barneveld.[26] Wade won the 2009 Premier League Darts tournament, defeating Mervyn King 13–8 at the Wembley Arena. However, he failed to defend his UK Open title in 2009 after losing to Peter Manley 9–8 in the third round. He then failed to reach the World Matchplay final for the first time, losing in the quarter-finals to Ronnie Baxter.

Wade lost to an on-fire Simon Whitlock in the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Championship. Whitlock won 5–3 in sets.

Defending his Premier League title, Wade reached the final of the 2010 Premier League, where he played against Phil Taylor. Taylor won 10–8, hitting two nine-dart finishes during the match.

Wade won the 2010 World Grand Prix, beating Adrian Lewis 6–3 in the final. Four days later, he won his second major tournament inside a week by defeating Taylor 6–5 in the 2010 Championship League Darts final.

Wade reached another major final in 2010 at the Grand Slam, seeing both Mervyn King and Terry Jenkins squander match darts against him before Wade himself threw away an 8–0 lead against BDO player Scott Waites in the final, as Waites came back to win 16–12.

Wade was the number two seed for the 2011 World Championship due to his World Grand Prix and Champions League Darts victories. However, Wade was beaten by world number 47 Mensur Suljović 4–2 in the second round. He got off to a poor start in the Premier League of Darts losing 8–3 to an on form Mark Webster he went on to defeat World Champion Adrian Lewis 8–6 in week 2 and then lost 8–5 to Simon Whitlock; during the match he took some stick from the Belfast crowd.[27] He regained some form in the latter weeks of the League drawing with Raymond Van Barneveld 7–7 while averaging over 100.[28] In June he won his 7th major title 2011 UK Open Darts after an 11–8 win against Wes Newton.[29] At the 2011 World Matchplay, he reached his fourth final and third against Phil Taylor. Wade beat Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis en route, before losing to Taylor in the final 18–8.

Wade dropped just one set to reach the quarter-finals of the 2012 World Championship, but was then involved in two of the best games ever witnessed at the event.[30] He played John Part in the last 8 and raced into a 3–1 lead before the Canadian won three sets in a row. Wade took the game into a deciding set and the players broke each other's throws twice to require a sudden-death leg, which he managed to win by taking out 85 with Part on 40.[31] He played defending champion Adrian Lewis in the semi-finals and looked to be heading for his first PDC World final as he led 5–1. Lewis pulled a set back, before Wade had a dart at double 18 to win the match. He missed and it proved to be a pivotal moment as Lewis took the set and reeled off 10 straight legs to complete a sensational comeback 5–6. Despite the loss, Wade moved up to third in the PDC Order of Merit overtaking Gary Anderson.[32]

Wade once again gained automatic entry for the Premier League due to his Order of Merit ranking.[33] He lost his first three matches, before winning the next three and went into the final game of the season knowing a win over Raymond van Barneveld would guarantee him a spot in the play-offs.[34][35] Wade drew the match 7–7, but due to other results going his way he still qualified for the play-offs by finishing 4th in the league.[36] He played Phil Taylor in the semi-finals, against whom he suffered heavy 2–8 and 1–8 defeats during the league campaign.[34] The semi-final, however, was much closer as Wade led 4–2 in the opening stages, before the score became 6–6. Taylor then took out a 149 finish, with Wade on 57, to break and then closed out the match 8–6.[37]

Wade beat Richie Burnett, Mark Walsh, Michael van Gerwen and Terry Jenkins to reach his fifth World Matchplay final and his fourth against Phil Taylor.[38][39] Wade trailed 10–14, but hit back to 14–15 and then missed a dart at double 10 to level the game. He went on to lose 15–18, stating after the match that winning 15 legs against Taylor whilst playing "half-mast" was a good achievement and that he had never felt so happy playing darts.[40] However, during his first round defeat to Colin Osborne in the World Grand Prix, Wade appeared visibly unsettled and immediately flew back home to receive treatment for bipolar disorder, with which he was diagnosed in 2010.[41] He released a statement to thank fans for their support and did not play again until the Grand Slam of Darts,[42] where he finished third in his group following one win and two defeats.[43] After all 33 ProTour events of 2012 had been played, Wade finished 12th on the Order of Merit to qualify for the Players Championship Finals.[44] He lost to Brendan Dolan 4–6 in the first round.[45]

At the 2013 World Championship, Wade beat Peter Hudson 3–0, Steve Beaton 4–2 and Vincent van der Voort 4–0 and then edged past Wes Newton 5–4 in the quarter-finals.[46] He was 1–3 down to Michael van Gerwen in the semi-finals, who then hit a nine dart finish and was a double 12 away from becoming the first player to hit successive perfect legs. However, Wade won the set and then levelled the game at 3–3. Despite averaging 10 points lower than his opponent, which included hitting one 180 to van Gerwen's 14, Wade stayed in the match by taking out finishes at crucial times. But the pressure exerted on Wade eventually showed as he lost 4–6.[47] Wade's best performance of the league stage of the Premier League came in week five when he averaged 105.73 during a 7–1 win over Robert Thornton, who had not lost any of his first four matches.[48] Despite losing three matches in a row he went into the final night needing a positive result against Phil Taylor to qualify for the play-offs.[49] He managed a 6–6 draw and after other results were favourable for Wade he finished fourth in the league to play van Gerwen in the semi-finals, who he had beaten 7–4 and lost to 5–7 during the league campaign.[49] Wade uncharacteristically missed a plethora of darts at doubles, hitting just 20% during the match and, despite a brief fightback from 2–7 down, he would lose 4–8.[50]

Wade played in six of the eight UK Open Qualifiers but could not advance beyond the last 16 in any of them to finish a lowly 61st on the Order of Merit, which meant he would enter the UK Open itself in the preliminary round.[51] He had six comfortable wins to advance to the quarter-finals.[52] He played Andy Hamilton and in a tight match he lost 8–10.[53] Wade played Phil Taylor once again in the World Matchplay, this time in the semi-finals, and was beaten 12–17.[54]

On 20 August, Wade was banned by the PDC for four tournaments regarding his behavior at recent Pro Tour events. He was found to have "acted in a manner which may reasonably be considered to injure or discredit the Darts Regulation Authority or bring the game into disrepute". Wade was free to return at the German Darts Masters in September.[55] In October Wade reached the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix, where he lost 5–1 to Phil Taylor, extending his winless run against Taylor to 18 matches. Taylor remarked afterwards: "James didn't click. He was gone. It's the first time I've ever seen him gone. He told me afterwards that he just gave up."[56] At the inaugural Masters Wade fought a partisan crowd to come back from 7–4 behind in the quarter-finals against Simon Whitlock to finish 91 on the bullseye in the deciding leg to win 8–7.[57] Wade, whose ranking has now dropped to world number six, stated that he wanted to prove that he should be back in the top four.[57] Early on in the semi-final his opponent Taylor threw a broken flight from the stage, with Wade then asking for it back before complaining to match officials. Wade asked the referee to forfeit the match and lost 10–1 with an average of 73.99.[58] Wade returned to win all three of his group games at the Grand Slam of Darts and then cruised past Paul Nicholson 10–1 to face Taylor yet again.[59] The meeting looked to be heading in a similar manner to Wade's recent heavy defeats as he trailed 9–2, but he then won five unanswered legs before missing three darts to reduce his deficit to only one. This was as close as he could get to Taylor and he went on to lose 16–12.[60]

Wade rode his luck at the 2014 World Championship as Darren Webster missed six match darts in the first round and Andy Smith missed two in the second.[61][62] Nevertheless, Wade advanced to the quarter-finals but was comfortably beaten 5–1 by Adrian Lewis as he missed 34 darts at doubles during the match.[63] As he was outside the top four on the Order of Merit, Wade had no guarantee he would be involved in the 2014 Premier League and he did not receive a wildcard from the PDC or Sky Sports which saw him miss the event for the first time since 2007. PDC chairman Barry Hearn explained the decision was made to give Wade a rest to enable him more time to gain treatment for his health issues,[64] but Wade released a statement the following day, describing the omission as "devastating" as he was "one of the four most consistent players in 2013".[65] Wade also said he didn't ask to be left out and didn't decline an invitation, and that, with regards the reason given by Hearn that he could gain treatment for his bipolar disorder, "no medical professional has suggested I take a break".[65]

At the UK Open, Wade eliminated Michael Mansell and Kim Huybrechts, before being edged out 9–8 in the fifth round by Terry Jenkins.[66] At the Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters he led world number one Michael van Gerwen 5–3, but was eliminated in a deciding leg 10–9.[67] Wade reached his first final in almost two years at the 12th Players Championship of 2014 by defeating Van Gerwen 6–4 in the semi-finals, but then lost 6–3 to Simon Whitlock.[68] Later in the month he won his first title since October 2011 by coming back from 4–1 down to beat Steve Beaton 6–4 in the final of the Gibraltar Darts Trophy, stating afterwards that the success meant more to him than of his televised wins as he was unsure if he was still capable of winning tournaments.[69] Wade could not advance to the semi-finals of the World Matchplay for the first time since 2009 as he lost in the quarters 16–10 to Whitlock.[70]

Wade's match against Robert Thornton in the second round of the World Grand Prix is regarded as the best in the tournament's history. At 1–0 up in sets, Wade opened the next with the second ever double-start nine-dart finish and threw a 156 finish in the leg after. However, he went on to lose the set and the following one, before Thornton incredibly threw the game's second nine-darter to become the first players to have thrown a perfect leg in the same match in darts history. Thornton would miss four darts to win 3–1, with the tie instead going into a deciding set which Wade took to advance to the quarter-finals.[71][72] Wade continued his run by beating Phil Taylor for the first time in a major knockout tournament and reached the final by fighting back from 3–1 down against Gary Anderson to win 4–3.[73][74] Wade paid the price for missing doubles against Michael van Gerwen including three to win both the fifth and seventh sets as he fell short of claiming a hat-trick of Grand Prix titles with a 5–3 defeat.[75] The following week, Wade won the 17th Players Championship by fighting back from 5–3 behind to beat Kim Huybrechts 6–5.[76] He was denied a weekend double 24 hours later as Van Gerwen beat him 6–2 in the final of the 18th event.[77]

Wade beat Taylor in a major event for the second time inside a month in the semi-finals of the Masters 11–9 with an average of 105.56. Wade started the final poorly, to fall 5–0, 6–1, 9–2 and 10–6 behind against Mervyn King, but incredibly King would miss a total of eight match darts, as Wade won the last five legs of the match to defeat King 11–10 and take his first major title for three years. Wade hit a 135 checkout in the last leg.[78] The comeback was later named the televised performance of the year at the PDC's annual awards dinner.[79]

Wade suffered a 4–1 defeat to Stephen Bunting in the second round of the 2015 World Championship and he lost 9–6 against Andrew Gilding in the fifth round of the UK Open.[80][81] He lost in the final of the first Players Championship event 6–5 to Gary Anderson, but returned to claim the second event a day later by beating Peter Wright 6–5.[82][83] He threw a nine-dart finish in the final of the sixth event to level the scores at 2–2 with Van Gerwen, but lost 6–5 and was narrowly edged out by the same scoreline in the final of the next event this time to Wright. In both events he never had a dart for the title.[84][85] On his return to the Premier League, Wade could only win three of his 16 matches to finish seventh.[86] His second Players Championship title of the year came at the 13th event in July as he recovered from 3–1 and 5–3 down against Kim Huybrechts in the final to win 6–5.[87]

In the semi-finals of the World Matchplay, Wade ended Phil Taylor's 38 match winning streak in the event stretching back to 2007 by beating him 17–14.[88] He lost in the final for the fifth time this time 18–12 to Van Gerwen.[89] Wade played Taylor in the final of the Perth Darts Masters and lost 11–7.[90] He suffered a surprise 2–1 defeat to Mensur Suljović in the first round of the World Grand Prix.[91] In October, Wade won through to the final of the 20th Players Championship and in doing so became the second player to reach 100 quarter-finals on the Pro Tour. He lost 6–2 to Gary Anderson.[92] Wade was knocked out in the second round of the European Championship, Grand Slam and Players Championship Finals.[93]

Wade won three matches without losing a set to reach the quarter-finals of the 2016 World Championship, but was comfortably beaten 5–1 by Gary Anderson.[94] He lost 6–1 to Anderson in the final of the fourth UK Open Qualifier and 9–2 to Mensur Suljović in the third round of the main event.[95] In the deciding leg of the sixth Players Championship final Josh Payne took out 116 with Wade waiting on tops to beat him 6–5.[96] He became the first player to defeat Michael van Gerwen in the European Tour events this season when he overcame him 6–2 in the semi-finals of the European Darts Matchplay and he claimed the title with a 6–5 win, after Dave Chisnall had missed one championship dart.[97] Wade lost in the final of the Shanghai Darts Masters 8–3 to Van Gerwen.[98]

Wade failed to get to at least the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay in his 11th appearance at the event when he lost 10–5 in the opening round to Mervyn King.[99] In the inaugural staging of the Champions League of Darts, Wade was eliminated in the semi-finals 11–3 by Phil Taylor.[100] Whilst at the event Wade broke the Guinness World Records title for the most darts in the inner and outer bullseyes in one minute with 15.[101] He lost 2–1 in a deciding leg to Terry Jenkins in the first round of the World Grand Prix and 11–7 in the semi-finals of the European Championship to Van Gerwen.[102][103] Wade played in his only major final of the year at the Grand Slam, by beating Anderson 16–14, but Van Gerwen won 10 of the final 13 legs to defeat Wade 16–8.[104]

Wade fought back from 3–1 down to Michael Smith at the 2017 World Championship to triumph 4–3, winning the last seven legs of the match to reach the quarter-finals.[105] He was then defeated 5–3 by Peter Wright.[106] Wade suffered early exits at the Masters, the 2017 Premier League Darts, and the World Matchplay, resulting in a decade-low ranking of 10th. Wade's hugely disappointing year continued with yet another first round defeat, this time at the hands of Steve West at the World Grand Prix. Wade's Grand Slam campaign saw him win through his group, defeating Phil Taylor along the way. He was beaten in the second round by Daryl Gurney. Wade defeated Kevin Painter and Jamie Caven 6–4, in the first and second rounds of the Players Championship Finals, respectively. In the third round, Wade saw off Ian White 10–6. Wade lost 10–6 at the Quarter Final stage to Rob Cross.

Wade suffered a poor showing in the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship, losing 2–3 to Keegan Brown in the 1st round. Wade defeated Simon Whitlock 10–8 in the first round of the Masters before losing to Michael van Gerwen 10–2 in the Quarter-Finals. Wade was not involved in the 2018 Premier League Darts for the first time since 2014. Wade ended his short stint outside the world's top 10 dart players, making good runs in European tour and players championship events away from the TV screens. Wade hit an 8th career 9-darter in a Pro-tour match against Michael Smith. Throughout the year, Wade had some really good runs on the European Tour reaching the final twice losing both to Michael van Gerwen 8–3. Late in the year, Wade clinched the 9th major tournament of his career winning the 2018 European Championship (darts) for the very first time, defeating Simon Whitlock 11–8 in the final, having already defeated Martin Schindler, Ricky Evans, Gerwyn Price and Max Hopp in the previous rounds. It was Wade's first major since 2014 and his first ranking major since 2011, propelling him back in to the world's elite top 6. Wade dedicated his title and upturn in form to his new-born son, Arthur, also stating he was "dangerous" again and that the rest of the field should "look out".

At the World Series of Darts Finals, Wade defeated debutant Ross Smith 6–3 in the first round. He then defeated hometown favorite Mensur Suljović 6–3 in the second round and Jamie Lewis 10–5 in the Quarter-Finals, continuing his excellent stretch of form. It was the first time since 2011 that Wade won 8 consecutive TV major matches. In the Semi-Finals, Wade dispatched 5-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld 11–2 in a high quality affair in which Wade averaged 100 and hit 65% of his doubles. This win stretched Wade's unbeaten TV run to 9 matches, the first time he had achieved this feat since 2008. In the Final, Wade played Michael Smith. Wade got off to a 3-leg advantage but Smith would peg him back to 5–5 before the second break. Wade would go onto break Smith in the 19th leg to serve the title out at 10–9 but he busted his score of 121, and Smith eventually came back and won the leg. In the decider, Smith missed 5 match darts and Wade sealed the title on D18. The tournament victory was Wade's second major in 7 days, and the 10th of his career. It was also Wade's first World Series Title. Wade's tournament victories sealed his place in the 2018 Grand Slam of Darts where he drew Keegan Brown, Mark Webster and Wesley Harms to comprise Group C. Wade won his opening group match, whitewashing BDO player Wesley Harms 5–0 with a 99 average. In his second group game, Wade defeated Keegan Brown 5–3, averaging 105. In doing so, Wade set a new personal record of 12 TV major wins in succession. Wade defeated Mark Webster 5–1 with a 102 average in the final group match to top the group, extending his unbeaten run to 13 matches and setting up a Round of 16 showdown with Michael Unterbuchner. Wade lost, rather surprisingly, to Michael Unterbuchner 10–6.

Wade beat Ross Smith 6–4 in the first round of the 2018 Players Championship Finals. He then overcame Nathan Aspinall 6–4 in the second round before losing out to Chris Dobey 10–9 in the round of 16.

Wade at the 2019 European Darts Matchplay

Wade defeated Japanese Qualifier Seigo Asada 3–2 in the second round of the 2019 PDC World Darts Championship, a high quality, fiesty affair in which Wade came under criticism for his celebrations aimed towards Asada. Wade later apologized for his actions. In the third round, Wade would go 0–2, and 1–3 down to Keegan Brown in a hostile atmosphere before producing a remarkable 4–3 comeback win. Wade became the 7th top 10 seed to crash out before the Quarter-Final stage, losing 4–3 to Ryan Joyce in the last 16. Wade was picked for the 2019 Premier League Darts on the 10-year anniversary of him winning the event. Wade's Masters campaign began with a 10–7 victory of Gerwyn Price. He followed the win with victories over Joe Cullen in the Quarter-Finals and Peter Wright in the Semi-Finals to set up a final with Michael van Gerwen. Wade lost the final 11–5 to Van Gerwen. Wade kicked off the 2019 Premier League Darts in style with a 7–4 win over outgoing Raymond van Barneveld with a 99 average. In week 4 of the 2019 Premier League Darts he beat Michael van Gerwen 7–3 Averaging 95.65. Wade continued his excellent form at the UK Open, dismantling fellow countryman James Wilson (darts player) 10–1 in the 4th round. Wade followed up the victory with a 10–7 win over Max Hopp but was surprisingly beaten 7–10 by Ross Smith in the round of 16. In week 5 of the 2019 Premier League Darts, Wade averaged 110 in his 7–0 whitewash win over Daryl Gurney sending him to the summit of the league table. Wade hit a 9-darter in a German Darts Championship match which he lost 5–6 to Darren Webster. Wade won Players Championship 9 in Barnsley defeating the likes of Mark Webster, Christian Kist, Peter Hudson, Aaron Monk, Adrian Lewis, Scott Baker and Michael Smith in the final. The tournament victory was his first on the Players Championships since 2015 and the 12th Players Championship of his career. Wade followed the win up with another title in Barnsley the following week – Players Championship 11 – beating Michael Smith in a repeat final, 8–6. Wade made it a back-to-back double in Barnsley and 3 out of 4, winning Players Championship 12, defeating the likes of Luke Woodhouse, Christian Kist, Ted Evetts, Stephen Bunting, Jonny Clayton, Michael Smith and Jeffrey de Zwaan in the final. The title was Wade's 34th in the PDC. Wade made the Semi-finals of the Premier League for the first time since 2013, defeating Rob Cross 8–6 on the final night of the league stage season, finishing 3rd on the table. Wade would go on to lose 10–5 to Rob Cross the following week in the Semi-Finals at The O2. Wade won a 4th Players Championship title of the year at Wigan, PC 18, defeating the likes of Benito van de Pas, Yordi Meeuwisse, Keegan Brown, Rowby-John Rodriguez, Callan Rydz, Krzysztof Ratajski, and José de Sousa in the final. Wade's 4 PDC titles in one calendar year equalled a personal record set back in 2009.

Wade bettered his record of 4 PDC titles in one calendar year, by winning his 5th Players Championship event of the year at PC 24, defeating Dave Chisnall 8–6 in the final. Wade defeated John Henderson 2–1 in the first round of the 2019 World Grand Prix (darts). Wade went down to Mervyn King (darts player) 1–3 in the round of 16. Wade's attempt at defending his 2018 European Championship title ended abruptly in the 1st round of the 2019 event as he was whitewashed 0–6 by Welshman Jonny Clayton. Wade lost to Jonny Clayton 5–6 once more at the 2019 World Series of Darts Finals. Wade picked up his form again at the 2019 Grand Slam of Darts, winning his opening 2 group stage matches, 5–2 against Wesley Harms and 5–4 against Ian White. He was then defeated by Steve Lennon in the final group stage match and lost to Adrian Lewis 9–10 in last 16. Wade defeated Ted Evetts and Ricky Evans in the 1st and 2 cd rounds of the 2019 Players Championship Finals, respectively. Wade lost 10–6 to Michael van Gerwen in the 3rd round.

Wade began the new decade with a 2nd round whitewash win over Ritchie Edhouse in the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship, after which he was eliminated 4-2 by Steve Beaton in the 3rd round. Wade performed well at the Inaugural PDC Summer Series, defeating the likes of Jeffrey de Zwaan, Nathan Aspinall, Michael Smith, and Rob Cross, en route to winning Players Championship 12 of the year. James made the final of the European Championship losing to Peter Wright 11-4. Wade defeated Damon Heta with a 102 average in his opening group stage match at the 2020 Grand Slam of Darts and beat both Jermaine Wattimena & Glen Durrant in his other group stage matches to top his group. In the last 16, Wade defeated fellow countryman Ian White 10-4, before again seeing off Damon Heta in the quarter-finals 16-13, with another 102 average. In the semi-finals, Wade failed to secure a lead over Dimitri van den Bergh for the entire match before producing a thrilling come back from 5–9 and 12–14 down, to eventually seal a 16-15 victory. Wade lost to debutant Jose de Sousa in the final, 16-12. [107]

Wade opened his 2021 PDC World Darts Championship campaign with a comfortable 3-0 win against Callan Rydz in the second round. In the third round he hit his 3rd televised 9 darter, and the first at the World Championship for five years. Despite the feat, he went on to lose the match 4-2 to Stephen Bunting.

• 2003: First round (lost to Dennis Harbour 2–3)
• 2004: Second round (lost to Darryl Fitton 1–3)

• 2005: First round (lost to Mark Holden 0–3)
• 2006: First round (lost to Wayne Jones 2–3)
• 2007: Third round (lost to Terry Jenkins 3–4)
• 2008: Quarter-finals (lost to John Part 4–5)
• 2009: Semi-finals (lost to Raymond van Barneveld 4–6)
• 2010: Quarter-finals (lost to Simon Whitlock 3–5)
• 2011: Second round (lost to Mensur Suljović 2–4)
• 2012: Semi-finals (lost to Adrian Lewis 5–6)
• 2013: Semi-finals (lost to Michael van Gerwen 4–6)
• 2014: Quarter-finals (lost to Adrian Lewis 1–5)
• 2015: Second round (lost to Stephen Bunting 1–4)
• 2016: Quarter-finals (lost to Gary Anderson 1–5)
• 2017: Quarter-finals (lost to Peter Wright 3–5)
• 2018: First round (lost to Keegan Brown 2–3)
• 2019: Fourth round (lost to Ryan Joyce 3–4)
• 2020: Third round (lost to Steve Beaton 2–4)
• 2021: Third round (lost to Stephen Bunting 2–4)