DartsNews Podcast | “Gary Anderson is James Wade with two world titles” – All-time standing weighed as 10-year Euro Tour wait ends amid 2027 Premier League backing

James Wade’s enduring ability to re-establish himself among the leading names in world darts was underlined once again at the Flanders Darts Trophy, where the 43-year-old ended a decade-long wait for his third European Tour title.

Wade defeated Ross Smith 8-4 in Sunday night’s final in Antwerp, averaging 99.10 and converting 60 per cent of his attempts at double. The triumph followed victories over Jim Long, Rob Cross, Danny Noppert and Damon Heta, including a 101.59 average against Cross and a 6-0 whitewash of Noppert.

It was Wade’s third PDC title of 2026 across three different environments. He began the season by beating Nathan Aspinall to win Players Championship 1, before securing his maiden regular World Series title at the Australian Darts Masters in August and completing the set on the European Tour in Belgium.

The £35,000 ranking prize has also lifted Wade above Michael van Gerwen to sixth on the PDC Order of Merit. After missing out on the 2026 Premier League despite reaching the UK Open and World Matchplay finals during the previous campaign, his case for a return in 2027 is becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss.

Wade’s resurgence formed the central discussion on Episode 10 of the DartsNews Podcast, with Kieran Wood joined by regular co-host Nicolas Gayer and special guest Samuel Gill.

Before Wade lifted the Flanders title, he had already been considered one of the unluckiest omissions from the 2026 Premier League. A former champion of the competition in 2009, Wade has featured in 12 editions but has not been selected since his most recent appearance in 2022.

With another title now added to a season that had already included success on the floor and World Series stage, Wood believes Wade has done more than enough to return next year.

“I think he will,” Wood said when asked whether Wade would play in the 2027 Premier League. “Obviously, it’s not confirmed, but there have been rumours that it could be an extended format of the Premier League. Hopefully anyway, because I think we’re all sick of what it is at the moment.

“If there are more players, maybe going up to 10, I don’t see how you can leave James Wade out given what he’s done, not just this year but last year as well. I think he was probably the unluckiest player to miss out on this year, so I don’t really see how he can miss out in 2027, if I’m honest.”

Whether the PDC expands the competition or retains the existing eight-player format, Gill reached the same conclusion. With Luke Littler and Luke Humphries among the few players whose selections would appear beyond debate, he argued that the pool of convincing alternatives is hardly overflowing.

“I don’t think there are many players in as good form as James, to be honest with you,” Gill said. “I’d probably say Wessel Nijman might force his way in, but he needs a good major result towards the end of the year for that to happen. Then you’ve got other players like Nathan Aspinall and Stephen Bunting, who are kind of in and out of form. Bunting has shown good stuff in recent weeks and he’s tried to up his profile, with his new book coming out in short order, which is everywhere.

“But I don’t know how you can leave Wade out, to be honest. There aren’t really that many more contenders, with Luke Littler winning everything as well. It’s one of those where you’ve just got to pick Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, maybe Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price, and the rest are up for debate, like they are every single year.”

Gill does not expect the Premier League to be expanded simply to accommodate a broader field. The existing format continues to fill major arenas and deliver commercially, leaving little incentive for Barry Hearn or PDC chief executive Matt Porter to change it.

Wade’s combination of results, ranking and greater visibility could nevertheless prove decisive when the wildcard places are considered. “I’d definitely say James Wade,” Gill continued. “You’ve also got to add his social media platforms to that. He’s been trying his hardest to do TikTok and Twitter, to varying degrees, so he’s definitely trying to show more of his personality as well.

“He is very good in interviews, unless you ask certain people, so he is quite entertaining anyway. In my opinion, he ticks that box. I don’t think there’ll be an extension to the format. I think the way Barry Hearn and Matt Porter see it is that it sells out arenas every single year and, while it continues to do that and while the demand is still there, they won’t change it," he added. “But that’s another debate, as opposed to James Wade being in the Premier League. I think he will definitely be in it come January next year.”

Gayer was equally emphatic, pointing to the changing public perception around a player who has not always been one of the easiest personalities for darts audiences to understand.

“I’m 100 per cent convinced that he has to be in it and I also think that he will be,” he said. “A big part of that is what you just said, Sam. There’s a new momentum around James right now with social media, but also with him presenting himself from a different angle in interviews.

“We saw yesterday evening when he was talking about Ross Smith, with some great words about Ross and also about talking to his mum. I just feel like people are warming to James a bit more right now than was the case over the last couple of years. I think he also ticks that box and he will be in.”

The Premier League debate forms only part of the wider reassessment of Wade’s career. He joined the PDC in 2004 and has won major titles across three different decades, remaining at or close to the elite level while numerous generations have risen and fallen around him.

His major honours include the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, UK Open, European Championship, Premier League, Masters, Championship League and World Series Finals. The glaring omission is the World Championship, where four separate semi-final appearances in 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2022 remain his best results.

That missing world title has frequently counted against Wade when the greatest players in PDC history are discussed. His longevity, however, compares favourably with almost anybody from the modern era.

“In terms of ranking the all-time greats, the thing that is held against Wade is the fact that he’s never won the World Championship,” Wood said. “How much would you say that longevity plays into it when you compare him to someone like Adrian Lewis, for example, who burned brightly but not for as long?”

For Gayer, the absence of a world crown prevents Wade from entering the very highest tier without removing him from the wider top-10 conversation. “Sometimes I’m alone with this take because people often weigh World Championships very heavily and don’t have him that high on their top-10 or all-time-great lists,” he explained.

“For me personally, James Wade is right up there. Of course, he’s not a top-three or maybe a top-five player, but he’s definitely in my top 10. The World Championship would make a difference, but even though he hasn’t won it, it doesn’t make that huge a difference for me personally because what he has done is so remarkable.

“He’s won majors in three different decades, which is absolutely astonishing. Winning the world title at some point would change the whole thing again, but even now, for me personally, he’s right up there with the greatest players of all time.”

Gill drew the clearest comparison with Gary Anderson, whose two World Championship victories in 2015 and 2016 helped secure the Scot’s position among the defining players of his generation.

“Gary Anderson is James Wade with two world titles,” Gill argued. “Gary Anderson is always lauded as one of the greatest players of all time, and James Wade just doesn’t have those World Championships.

“But the Gary Anderson point is longevity. Gary Anderson has been around for years and years. You see players like Peter Wright who have been similar, but he’s now falling away and potentially could fall off the tour in the next two years.

“James Wade has basically always been in and around the top 10. He’s always been the spoiler. He’s always been the player people don’t want to pick for Premier Leagues and World Series events, but he keeps finding a way to do it and has done for the whole of my lifetime and even beyond. For me, he’s comparable with players like that. He’ll definitely be up there with Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and others in that top-five debate.”

Wade’s career has not contained the same dominant peak as those of Phil Taylor or Van Gerwen, while the lack of a World Championship separates him from Anderson, Lewis and several other multiple world champions. His strength has instead been an ability to remain relevant through every shift in the game.

“People have rose-tinted spectacles because they put players up there who played in the old eras and perhaps wouldn’t have done it nowadays,” Gill continued. “That’s a completely different debate, but James Wade has stacked up in every single era he’s been in. He’s never had a tail-off. He’s never really had a point where he’s had to go away from darts for a little while, regroup and then start winning titles again.

“Whenever it seems like he’s going to go away, he keeps coming back and winning. He keeps coming back and winning majors occasionally when Luke Littler doesn’t," he added. “Even before Luke Littler was on the scene, he was winning majors and doing it quite regularly. You can’t ignore him. He’s always been that player you just can’t ignore.”

Wade’s longevity has been built upon an exceptionally repeatable throwing action. His setup, rhythm and preferred routes have changed remarkably little, allowing him to retain the clinical finishing for which he has been renowned throughout his career.

“I always think the most fascinating thing about James Wade is that when you look him up on YouTube, pick a game from 20 years ago and put it right beside a current game, you see that the throw still looks identical,” Gayer said.

“As a darts player myself, who is always struggling with his technique and always has another mistake in the technique popping up, it’s so fascinating to see how he constantly manages to maintain that action. It’s the same dart, the same barrel, the same setup, the same shirt. It’s just all the same. I think that’s remarkable in a sport like darts, where little changes can make big differences.”

The difference in the current version of Wade is not a visible technical overhaul, but the greater scoring power being added to his traditional strengths. The 101.59 average against Cross in Antwerp was another example of a player once associated with winning matches in the mid-90s now becoming increasingly comfortable beyond the ton mark.

“He’s arguably playing the best darts of his career now, regardless of how long his career has been,” Wood said. “It’s his first European Tour title in 10 years and, a few weeks ago, he won his first-ever regular World Series event. He literally seems to be ageing like a fine wine.”

Gayer added: “It was always said that James Wade doesn’t really average that big. Around the 95 mark is where James Wade has pretty much always been at home throughout his career.

“Now he’s got himself into a position where he can average over a ton and post those sorts of statistics as well. Adding that to his game could make him even more dangerous for everyone else," concluded the German analyst. “I’m really excited to see this version of James Wade over the next couple of years and see what he can still win and achieve in the game.”

Wade will take that form into the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam before the ranking majors dominate the closing months of the season. He begins against Damon Heta, the same opponent he defeated 7-4 in the Flanders semi-finals.