Wade confident ahead of World Matchplay after Euro Tour semi-final run: "The positive signs in my game were obvious"

James Wade has a monthly column at England's Daily Star newspaper. In it, he gives darts fans an insight into his career.

"It is with mixed emotions that I bring you the news that I broke a record last weekend (I may have mentioned this before, but I am already in the Guinness Book of Records). This time it was for the most 180s in a single European Tour match," Wade opened.

"The reason my emotions are mixed is that it didn't do me much good because I didn’t even win the match! I averaged 109 and hit 10 180s in my semi-final of the European Matchplay in Germany, but due to a couple of critical misses at key moments I lost out to eventual winner Luke Humphries, who also played extremely well."

Self-assured

Despite the defeat, Wade is looking ahead positively to the upcoming tournaments. "It is always disappointing to lose, but the positive signs in my game were obvious and I felt very confident and relaxed, also notching up wins against the likes of Rob Cross and Johnny Clayton, who are some of the game’s in-form players."

"For now, my focus is on keeping up the progress shown this weekend and the forthcoming Players Championships. Then it’s off to my favourite of all the venues, the Winter Gardens in Blackpool for the World Matchplay," concluded 'The Machine'.