James Wade ends three-year wait for PDC ranking title at Players Championship 19
James Wade clinched his first PDC ranking title since 2022 as he triumphed at Players Championship 19 in Leicester with victory over Scott Williams in the final.
The ten-time major winner produced a series of vintage displays on Thursday to end his ranking title drought at the Mattioli Arena.
Wade delivered a masterclass of finishing to thrash Scott Williams 8-3 in the final, averaging 101.5 to return to the winner’s enclosure and reclaim a place in the world’s top eight in the process.
The left-hander was at his merciless best against Williams, landing a trio of ton-plus checkouts and remarkably converting eight of his nine attempts at doubles.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Wade. “I’m really, really happy. It’s been a difficult few years for me.
“I went from number three in the world down to outside of the top 20, but it wasn’t because my darting ability disappeared, it was because my health disappeared.
“I’ve never been a press or organisation favourite but when I’ve gone against what I’ve gone against, not knowing if I’m going to play darts again, today is a milestone.
“I still want to be in the mix. I know I am still good enough to compete with the best players, so I want to keep knocking on the door and upsetting the apple cart.”
Following comfortable 6-2 wins over Brett Claydon and Joshua Richardson, Wade moved through to the Last 16 with victory over Peter Wright, edging past the Scot in a decider for the second day running.
The Aldershot ace then averaged 104 to dispatch Kevin Doets, before reeling off six straight legs from 4-0 down to deny World Youth Champion Gian van Veen in the quarter-finals.
Wade produced clinical 161 and 124 checkouts during this spell and maintained that ruthless precision on the outer ring in his 7-3 rout of Andrew Gilding in the semi-finals.
However, ‘The Machine’ saved his best finishing for the final, conjuring up a brace of 110 checkouts – including one for the title – along with a trademark 120 combination to cap off a terrific performance.
Williams was eyeing a first ranking title in just over three years, and he began his challenge with a deciding-leg victory over Gerwyn Price, inflicting back-to-back first round exits on the Welshman.
The former World Championship semi-finalist also eased past Adam Hunt, Tommy Lishman and Bradley Brooks en route to the final, having survived match darts in wins over William O’Connor and Wessel Nijman.
Nijman, a back-to-back semi-finalist on the European Tour last month, also impressed in Leicester, registering a hat-trick of ton-plus averages in his run to the last four.
Former UK Open champion Gilding delivered some equally eye-catching displays, averaging 110.8 to beat Andy Baetens 6-2 before dumping out Gary Anderson, Ross Smith and Damon Heta to reach the semi-finals.
Heta advanced to the Last Eight alongside Van Veen, Bradley Brooks and Scottish star Alan Soutar, who averaged 105 to topple Tuesday’s runner-up Dirk van Duijvenbode in round one.
Wednesday’s winner Stephen Bunting, Dave Chisnall, Ryan Searle and Danny Noppert were among the other notable first round casualties.
Players Championship 19 Results
Thursday June 19
First Round
Leon Weber 6-4 Dave Chisnall
Jitse Van der Wal 6-4 Stefaan Henderyck
Kevin Doets 6-5 Dylan Slevin
Lukas Wenig 6-5 Nathan Rafferty
Peter Wright 6-3 Graham Hall
Ryan Meikle 6-2 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
James Wade 6-2 Brett Claydon
Joshua Richardson 6-3 Benjamin Reus
Ricky Evans 6-3 Cameron Menzies
Pero Ljubic 6-3 Niko Springer
Gabriel Clemens 6-5 Joe Cullen
Jelle Klaasen 6-5 Matt Campbell
Gian van Veen 6-5 Karel Sedlacek
James Hurrell 6-3 Dennie Olde Kalter
Connor Scutt 6-2 Luke Woodhouse
Florian Hempel 6-2 Richard Veenstra
Ross Smith 6-4 Tom Bissell
Keane Barry 6-5 Thibault Tricole
Niels Zonneveld 6-1 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 Sebastian Bialecki
Gary Anderson 6-3 Andy Boulton
Danny Lauby 6-5 Darryl Pilgrim
Andrew Gilding 6-2 Andy Baetens
Mario Vandenbogaerde 6-3 Jack Tweddell
Damon Heta 6-3 Ted Evetts
Nick Kenny 6-5 Tavis Dudeney
Matthew Dennant 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
Viktor Tingstrom 6-4 Jim Williams
Mike De Decker 6-0 Danny van Trijp
Dominik Gruellich 6-3 Stephen Burton
Daryl Gurney 6-0 Berry van Peer
Martijn Dragt 6-4 Jeffrey De Graaf
Martin Schindler 6-4 Jim Long
Owen Bates 6-4 Adam Paxton
William O’Connor 6-2 Max Hopp
Thomas Lovely 6-3 Madars Razma
Scott Williams 6-5 Gerwyn Price
Adam Hunt 6-5 Carl Sneyd
George Killington 6-3 Danny Noppert
Tommy Lishman 6-4 Kai Gotthardt
Chris Dobey 6-1 Radek Szaganski
Chris Landman 6-1 Mervyn King
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-4 Kim Huybrechts
Brendan Dolan 6-1 Oskar Lukasiak
Callan Rydz 6-4 Ryan Searle
Bradley Brooks 6-1 Tytus Kanik
Michael Smith 6-1 Steve Lennon
Ian White 6-2 Jose De Sousa
Darius Labanauskas 6-2 Stephen Bunting
Scott Campbell 6-1 Nathan Girvan
Martin Lukeman 6-4 Maximilian Czerwinski
Marvin van Velzen 6-1 Rhys Griffin
Alan Soutar 6-3 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Robert Grundy 6-5 Justin Hood
Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 Adam Lipscombe
Adam Warner 6-3 Adam Mould
Jonny Clayton 6-3 William Borland
Mickey Mansell 6-2 Stefan Bellmont
Ryan Joyce 6-3 Dom Taylor
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-0 Greg Ritchie
Wessel Nijman 6-3 Christian Kist
Darren Beveridge 6-4 Cam Crabtree
Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 Rob Owen
Haupai Puha 6-2 Cor Dekker
Second Round
Jitse Van der Wal 6-5 Leon Weber
Kevin Doets 6-3 Lukas Wenig
Peter Wright 6-2 Ryan Meikle
James Wade 6-2 Joshua Richardson
Ricky Evans 6-2 Pero Ljubic
Gabriel Clemens 6-3 Jelle Klaasen
Gian van Veen 6-0 James Hurrell
Florian Hempel 6-3 Connor Scutt
Ross Smith 6-1 Keane Barry
Niels Zonneveld 6-1 Mensur Suljovic
Gary Anderson 6-4 Danny Lauby
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Damon Heta 6-3 Nick Kenny
Viktor Tingstrom 6-3 Matthew Dennant
Dominik Gruellich 6-5 Mike De Decker
Daryl Gurney 6-1 Martijn Dragt
Owen Bates 6-4 Martin Schindler
William O’Connor 6-4 Thomas Lovely
Scott Williams 6-3 Adam Hunt
Tommy Lishman 6-3 George Killington
Chris Dobey 6-3 Chris Landman
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Ricardo Pietreczko
Bradley Brooks 6-5 Callan Rydz
Michael Smith 6-3 Ian White
Darius Labanauskas 6-4 Scott Campbell
Marvin van Velzen 6-5 Martin Lukeman
Alan Soutar 6-4 Robert Grundy
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Adam Warner
Jonny Clayton 6-4 Mickey Mansell
Ryan Joyce 6-3 Maik Kuivenhoven
Wessel Nijman 6-1 Darren Beveridge
Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 Haupai Puha
Last 32
Kevin Doets 6-1 Jitse Van der Wal
James Wade 6-5 Peter Wright
Ricky Evans 6-3 Gabriel Clemens
Gian van Veen 6-4 Florian Hempel
Ross Smith 6-4 Niels Zonneveld
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Gary Anderson
Damon Heta 6-3 Viktor Tingstrom
Daryl Gurney 6-3 Dominik Gruellich
William O’Connor 6-5 Owen Bates
Scott Williams 6-3 Tommy Lishman
Brendan Dolan 6-3 Chris Dobey
Bradley Brooks 6-4 Michael Smith
Marvin van Velzen 6-5 Darius Labanauskas
Alan Soutar 6-4 Jermaine Wattimena
Ryan Joyce 6-4 Jonny Clayton
Wessel Nijman 6-2 Raymond van Barneveld
Last 16
James Wade 6-4 Kevin Doets
Gian van Veen 6-5 Ricky Evans
Andrew Gilding 6-3 Ross Smith
Damon Heta 6-4 Daryl Gurney
Scott Williams 6-5 William O’Connor
Bradley Brooks 6-0 Brendan Dolan
Alan Soutar 6-5 Marvin van Velzen
Wessel Nijman 6-3 Ryan Joyce
Quarter-Finals
James Wade 6-4 Gian van Veen
Andrew Gilding 6-2 Damon Heta
Scott Williams 6-2 Bradley Brooks
Wessel Nijman 6-5 Alan Soutar
Semi-Finals
James Wade 7-3 Andrew Gilding
Scott Williams 7-6 Wessel Nijman
Final
James Wade 8-3 Scott Williams
