Wade on being misunderstood by new era of darts fans: "I’m not pushed or promoted like players who are well under me"

James Wade is aiming to add another Premier League Darts crown this year. 'The Machine' previously won the tournament in 2009.

Wade is confident of doing so though and said his record speaks for itself.

“I don’t see myself as a dark horse. In the second week I had some problems at home, no excuse why I lost to Joe Cullen. I wasn’t there as a person. That’s why that second week was so poor," he said to Unicorn Darts.

“If I get the bit between my teeth, if things go my well, there’s no reason why I can’t get in that top four. You’ve got to grind out results at times. But I’ve also proved I can average in the hundreds.”

As he has previously stated also, Wade believes he is underrated and misunderstood as the third most decorated player in the sport.

“I’ve been around for such a long time and I’ve beaten so many players in hard games and the crowd has been against me. I still find it quite a surprise when people are shocked when I do win something.

“At the end of the day I’m in top form and won a few things. People also forget the amount of finals I’ve been in. If I’ve won 10 titles I must have lost in 20 finals because of a little Philip Taylor.

"That kind of frustrates me a little bit. I guess with the new age and new era of darts fans or the people who watch darts, because I’m not pushed or promoted like players who are well under me, they don’t know me."

He also spoke about his charity work and how the way he is portrayed in certain sections of the media doesn't always ring true.

“I probably do more than the average Joes in the way of helping people and doing things and donating and bits and bobs.

“It annoys me that people don’t see that side. I do care about other people and what other people think of me.

“I don’t have a problem with the big press. It’s the pop up people and podcasts who can do or say whatever they want, and they do it without any thought either. They don’t care as long as their followers are going up and earning their bit of money.

“But they do portray me differently from what I actually am. I can be the biggest pain in the arse but I’m not a bad person. But that all depends on the mood I’m in and what sort of place I’m in at that time. The older you get you try to be a better person.”