PDC World Darts Championship: James Wade accused of 'thuggish' behaviour in second-round win

World number nine Wade was given a major scare by qualifier Seigo Asada at Alexandra Palace

Thursday 20 December 2018 09:18 GMT
Comments
Wade is through to the third round at Alexandra Palace
Wade is through to the third round at Alexandra Palace (Rex Features)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

James Wade said he "wanted to really hurt" Japanese player Seigo Asada after aggressively shouting in his face during their PDC World Darts Championship match.

World number nine Wade was given a major scare by the qualifier at Alexandra Palace before eventually progressing to the third round 3-2.

Former player Wayne Mardle described Wade's behaviour as "thuggish" and said there was no place for it in darts.

"I kept giving it to him, I wanted to hurt him, I wanted to really hurt him in his face," an unrepentant Wade told Sky Sports. "It wasn't a great game but I wanted to hurt him and I wanted to progress. That's for my son, and also for the UK."

Wade, who will face Jelle Klaasen or Keegan Brown next, twice came from a set down to progress, with the major talking point coming when he attempted to intimidate Asada by yelling in his face after levelling at 1-1.

Wade progressed into the next round
Wade progressed into the next round (PA)

Mardle, who was working as a television pundit, was appalled by the incident and felt Wade overstepped the line.

"Does he mean he wanted to punch him in his face? What does he mean? I'm absolutely lost for words," said Mardle.

"That's just not on. The intimidation, overly aggressive, I hope he wakes up in the morning and thinks, 'I've made a mistake there'.

"He can't think that's right and no-one watching it can think it's right. That's thuggish behaviour, there's no place in darts for that."

The gripping encounter between Wade and Asada came after Simon Whitlock became the latest big name to crash out of the tournament.

Eighth seed Whitlock, a finalist in 2010, suffered an emphatic 3-0 loss to debutant Ryan Joyce.

The Australian follows 2007 champion Raymond van Barneveld and third seed Peter Wright in making an early exit

Englishman Joyce, who will meet Alan Norris or Steve Lennon in the last 32, said: "He didn't play anywhere near what he's capable of and I'm happy I was able to take advantage and not blow it under pressure.

"If I can put it all together, I can go a long way but I don't look ahead too much."

William O'Connor upset James Wilson after winning a five-set thriller in the opening match of the evening session, while Michael Smith came through a below-par performance to beat Ron Meulenkamp 3-1.

In the afternoon session, Kim Huybrechts produced a fabulous display to whitewash Daniel Larsson and set up a meeting with 12th seed Dave Chisnall.

The 33-year-old Belgian landed six 180s and averaged 103.26 as he romped past the Swedish qualifier 3-0 without dropping a leg.

Northern Irishman Brendan Dolan threw the tournament's first 170 checkout en route to demolishing 14th seed Joe Cullen in straight sets. He will play either Meryvn King or Jann Dekker in the last 32.

In Wednesday's first-round contests, Noel Malicdem came from 2-1 down to defeat Jeffrey De Graaf 3-2 and set up a meeting with Australian Kyle Anderson, while Nathan Aspinall comfortably beat fellow debutant Geert Nentjes 3-0 and will next play sixth seed Gerwyn Price.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in