James Wade had an unexpected rant at the World Matchplay post game interview, claiming ‘a group of players get looked after very well’, suggesting that he is not part of this ‘clique’.
James Wade clinched the final qualifying place for the 2024 World Matchplay in dramatic fashion.
Only just making it on the based on the Order of Merit after the final qualifying event (Players Championship 14).
This kept his historic run in the competition going as he made his 19th consecutive World Matchplay appearance.
The 2007 champion has started strong, beating Danny Noppert 10-5 and resulting in Noppert being the first seeded player to exit the competition.
This, however, would not prove to be the highlight for James Wade.
In the post game interview, Wade would go on an unexpected and unprovoked rant about ‘preferential’ player treatment…
SEE MORE NEWS ON DECENT DARTS
👉 “It put me in a dark place” – Steve West gets real on his PDC career
👉 “Enjoy him while he’s here now” – Durrant thinks Luke Littler will retire early
James Wade Talks on Event Invites and ‘Preferential’ Player Treatment
James Wade took his PDC post game interview (with multiple media outlets) as an opportunity to air some personal thoughts on the ‘preferential’ treatment that some players receive.
In a summary comment, Wade had this to say:
“There’s a group of players that are looked after very, very well and they get invited and they have the invitation whereas a lot of other players haven’t got that.”
When asked why he wasn’t a part of this group, Wade replied:
“Unless you’re part of a certain group or organisation, you can’t be part of that.
“So, for someone like myself that aren’t part of that, I have to work a little bit harder.
“I have to earn myself, rather than be given.”
During this rant, James Wade also had quite a few ‘jibes’ at Online Darts interviewer, Phil Barrs.
It’s hard to tell if this is related to his feelings on some players being treated better than him or if it’s a personal attack on Phil, but on more than one occasion Wade had this to say:
“Come on, you’ve got to come back with it, [“I haven’t got the stats to hand so I can’t”], no, you wouldn’t, would you.”
“Phil didn’t have an answer there, did you?”
“Phil put his head down as I said that. So, Phil hasn’t got anymore to say about that, I’m sure.”
It definitely seemed a bit tense as Wade clearly wanted to get some things off his chest.
See the full interview below:
Just to clear something up for readers.
In terms of the quote around ‘certain players being looked after’, this won’t be in relation to the Matchplay which is an event based on rankings (which Wade just squeezed into) and not an invitation.
Due to him taking the final spot at the World Matchplay it would be easy to think he was referring to this tournament.
He is more likely talking about World Series events which are not based on rankings.
An example would be Stephen Bunting (ranked 16 at the time) featuring in the two most recent events, US Masters and Nordic Masters. This was due to initial players being unavailable for the tournaments.
If it were based on the next player in terms or ranking though, the likes of Dave Chisnall, Jonny Clayton, Damon Heta, Chris Dobey and Joe Cullen would all have been selected ahead of Bunting.
Wade is therefore suggesting that certain players get special treatments and that he is not a part of the ‘clique’.
Let us know what you think about Wade’s rant in the comments below. Is he justified in what he is saying or was he out of order? 👇
Read Next: MVG has more to lose than Luke Littler at World Matchplay