"I am fed up with talking about Luke Humphries" - James Wade jokes he's been 'plagued' by Cool Hand Luke in recent events

James Wade starts this year's PDC World Darts Championship as the thirteenth seed. In his opening match, he takes on the winner of the duel between Matt Campbell and Lourence Ilagan.

Wade had a difficult first part of the year, but performed excellently at the recent majors. "One of the stats that came out of my weekend was that it was the first time I had been in three major quarter finals in a row since 2013, having reached the European Championship final, the semi-final at the Grand Slam of Darts and the last eight at Minehead," Wade writes in his column for the Daily Star.

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Despite his strong results in the second half of the year, Wade keenly points out that there is still more to come. "As strange as it seems, one of the things that is most pleasing to me is that I still haven’t hit top gear. There have been good displays of finishing and some good scoring in spells, but I know there is still way more to come."

"For me, the one concern that I had was around doubles, as that has always been my forte and the thing that keeps everyone else on their toes when they are playing me," continued the 40-year-old Englishman. "For a while they were letting me down which erodes confidence, but I am pleased to say they have returned at just the right time.‌"

Going into the World Championship, undoubtedly the man in form, is Luke Humphries. Someone, Wade has played often recently as have much respect for. "I feel like I am fed up with talking about Luke Humphries in this column! I got the better of him at the European Championship and said what a nice guy he was, and since then he has plagued me! Joking aside though, he is a great talent and when you get him on the run you must capitalise on it."

"Now all eyes are on the World Championships, where I am defending a significant amount of money after a semi-final run two years ago so it is a good job that I am finding a return to form!" Wade knows. "With 96 players in the event from the off, you effectively play one game in 12 days which is like nothing else on tour. Is it as simple as getting the win, as averages, the way you play, the way you feel – it can all be massively altered by the time you get back after Christmas. Just get the job done, enjoy Christmas and then the real fun starts on December 27th.‌"