“Sometimes it frustrates me... you think, ‘I’ve done that 15 years ago’” – James Wade doesn't feel he gets the recognition he deserves

James Wade has been among the absolute elite for nearly two decades, yet the six-time world number six still feels his performances do not always get the recognition they deserve. The Englishman, widely regarded as the best player never to win a world title, admits that it still bothers him at times.

With eleven major titles and no fewer than forty PDC ranking titles, Wade has built an impressive résumé. Back in 2007, he made history by winning the World Matchplay at the age of 24. He was then the youngest winner of a PDC major, a record later surpassed by Michael van Gerwen and subsequently Luke Littler.

Even so, Wade notices that attention often gravitates toward achievements by a new generation, while he hit similar milestones years ago. “No one deserves respect; you earn that,” Wade told TalkSPORT. “I think sometimes it frustrates me when people say, ‘Oh, this player is doing this and has done this.’ And you think, ‘I’ve done that 15 years ago.’ That’s frustration, that’s all. That’s probably because I take things a little personally."

According to the 43-year-old Englishman, it is not jealousy, but rather a sense that his own achievements are sometimes overlooked. “It frustrates me because people talk to you like you haven’t been there and you haven’t done it. That is a little chip on my own shoulder that I need to get off or get on with. I have chosen to get on with it."

Wade realizes he takes remarks more personally than many others. He partly links that to his ADHD, though he does not want to use it as an excuse.

“Life is not fair sometimes, and some of us take things personally and some of us fixate on things that aren’t a problem to anyone else," he says. “But that’s down to probably my ADHD. Not making excuses, just some of us take things personally, some of us don’t.”

Despite those frustrations, Wade is enjoying another strong spell on the oche. Over the past two years, he has earned more than £667,000 in prize money thanks in part to three runner-up finishes at televised tournaments and two ProTour titles.

Beyond his own results, Wade also reflects on the sport’s remarkable development since he began his career. Where qualifiers were once held in pubs, the biggest names now perform in packed arenas across the globe.

“I'd say some of the players are superstars,” said Wade. “If you would have told me that the trajectory of darts would have been this I'd have laughed at you.”

He also points to the ambitions of former PDC chairman Barry Hearn. “We all had a little giggle when Barry Hearn said the World Championship would be a million pounds to the winner 10 or 15 years ago. But he had that set in his sights and that's what he wanted to achieve.

Wade believes the sport has grown far beyond anything he ever dared to imagine. “Darts has just gone crazy from what used to be played in qualifiers in pubs originally when it first started to now we're playing in arenas like the O2, Madison Square Garden," he concludes. “The list goes on. It's almost surpassed what I thought darts would ever achieve. In fact, it has.”