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James '009' Wade
Born in Aldershot in 1983, James Wade is one of the most exciting young players in darts and has enjoyed a rapid rise up the PDC rankings in the last few years. His major breakthrough came in 2002 when he won the Swiss Open while still in his teens; his fine win over Colin Monk in the final an early indication of his prodigious talent.
James's TV debut followed at the 2003 Lakeside World Championship as a BDO player, though he suffered a first round exit and only managed to go one better the next year. Like so many other top darts players, James saw his future in the PDC and made the switch in 2004 before making his debut in the PDC World Championship in 2005 - though he again suffered a first round exit.
James then began to realise his potential, a run to the last 16 of the UK Open that year included fine wins over Wayne Mardle and Bob Anderson, and he also qualified for the Las Vegas Desert Classic. 2006 saw the young man step up his performances even further, and in July's World Matchplay he stormed through the tournament all the way to the final and a meeting with the legendary Phil Taylor.
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Previous UK Open Performances
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2003
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4th Round |
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2004
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4th Round
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2005
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6th Round
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2006
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3rd Round
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2007
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5th Round
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Wade came flying out of the blocks against Taylor and went 8-3 ahead, but he eventually fell to the more experienced player as the match ended 11-18, though the impact he made during that event was huge.
Having turned professional James entered the 2007 Word Championship with high hopes and made it through to the last 16, and having been well backed to take the 2007 Blue Square UK Open, it was looking good for him when he hammered 2004 champion Roland Scholten 11-5 in the fourth round, then avoided the 'big guns' and drew Darren Webster in round five.
Unfortunately for '009' he was never able to get on top during that match, and he joined Andy Hamilton on Webster's list of victims after an 11-7 defeat. Just one of several exciting young players in the PDC at the moment, James will continue to learn from every big tournament he competes in and this quality left-hander is sure to be a massive threat in the 2008 Blue Square UK Open.
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