Supreme consistency at the highest level: James Wade reaches quarter-final on European Tour for 15th consecutive season

James Wade is the picture of longevity and consistency on the PDC Tour. For two decades now he has been challenging and winning the biggest tournament on offer, which includes the European Tour where he has been an ever-present, especially in the latter stages.

At the International Darts Open, 'The Machine' made history after reaching the quarter-final stage. A 6-0 whitewash win over an underwhelming Dave Chisnall was followed by a hard-fought 6-5 victory against the talented Wessel Nijman.

He looked to have a semi-final spot almost sewn up after going 4-0 up against Cameron Menzies, but the Scot rallied and fought his way back into the tie, winning six legs on the spin to dump Wade out at the last-eight stage.

While Wade would have been disappointed with himself for not getting over the line and allowing his opponent to cut the huge deficit, he did make a bit of history by reaching the quarter-final stage. He is the only player to make it to a quarter-final on the European Tour in every season.

15 seasons the European Tour has been going on for, and the Englishman has been here or there abouts in many of the tournaments. Surprisingly, he has not tasted success for almost a decade, last winning the European Darts Matchplay in 2016.

No one else has been able to compete this feat. Not even Michael van Gerwen who has won an incredible 38 European Tour titles. However, he was unable to reach the quarter-final in the first year in 2012. He has recorded at least one last-eight appearance every year from then, leaving his tally at 14.

Dave Chisnall, Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright all sit on 13. Three of the most successful European Tour players have constantly been in the business end of these tournaments over a number of years. English duo Michael Smith and Joe Cullen come in next with 12 seasons, four away from the superior Wade.