Grand Slam of Darts star James Wade admits ‘I did not deal with it nicely’ after exit
JAMES WADE COLUMN: ‘View From the Oche with OOONO’ is back as the darts star talks about his Grand Slam of Darts campaign which ended in the group stages
I don’t know where to start with my Grand Slam of Darts campaign. Preparation was fine, and I’m comfortable at Wolverhampton after several years at the venue, along with a reasonable amount of success, including reaching the semi-finals a couple of years ago.
I got off to a flying start on Saturday against Stefon Bellmont, scoring 180 on my first throw and playing well in the first three legs. I had a solid start in my fourth leg as well, but when it came down to it, I had three darts to win the leg but ended up shaving the wire.
Instead of going up 4-0, it became 3-1, which affected my game. For some reason, I struggled with my doubles, and after going to a last-leg decider at 4-4, I missed three darts that cost me dearly.
Last week, I mentioned in my column that it might be best lose the first game to focus on winning afterward – scratch that. I know Gerwyn Price is a fantastic player and hard to beat on his day. I believe he’s on par with Luke Humphries and Luke Littler – high praise indeed.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t at my best when I played Gezzy; in fact, it was the complete opposite. I played terribly. Everything felt wrong, and sometimes, unfortunately, my condition affects my performance. Recently, I’ve been coping well and strategising, but for whatever reason, I didn’t handle it well this time.
It felt embarrassing for me, and I worried it might be embarrassing for the crowd too, even though Price put on a professional display, winning 5-0.
I wanted to go home, but there was still one game to play on Monday, and I was already out of the tournament. It felt strange to play without real motivation; however, I wanted to prove to myself that I was over the disappointing result from Sunday. After training hard, I ended up winning my final game 5-2 against Ricky Evans, and I felt a bit proud of that.
Now, I’m back home with my kids and Samantha, and I have no desire to watch the darts. It’s not because I’m bitter; I just don’t have any interest in it at all, especially seeing top players making money while I sulk at home.
Fortunately, I won’t have time to sulk. Next week, I’m off to Minehead for the Players Championship Final, a tournament I’ve won before. Last year, I reached the quarter-finals, and it’s crucial for me to get a run going as I prepare for the World Championships.
While I’m focused on the Players Championship, I’m already thinking about the World Championship and working on improving my game. It’s been a really good year so far, but I want to do much better at Ally Pally. The past two years at the World Championship have been disappointing for me, so I’m determined to perform at a much higher level this time around.
Take care,
Wadey
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