LEFT-HANDER James has enjoyed success in darts since he began to take the sport seriously as a 14-year-old before maturing into a top professional.

A winner in his first competitive event, the Basingstoke Open, as a teenager, he also represented England at Youth level and reached the final of the 2001 British Classic, losing to John Walton.

He claimed victory in the Swiss Open the following year, and made his debut at the 2003 BDO World Championship, losing to Dennis Harbour.

Qualification followed for the World Darts Trophy, and he was the runner-up in the Norway Open as well as competing in the PDC's inaugural UK Open, reaching round four where he went down to Alex Roy.

Wade was a second round loser in the 2004 World Championship, but reached the quarter-finals of the International Darts League that year before opting to move onto the Professional Darts Corporation circuit,

Having reached the last 32 at the UK Open, going down 8-7 to Colin Lloyd, Wade came through the PDPA Qualifiers to earn a debut in the PDC World Championship later that year, losing to Mark Holden.

A victory in the 2005 Irish Masters saw him edge towards the world's top 32, and he also qualified for the UK Open, Las Vegas Desert Classic, World Grand Prix and a second World Championship, where he let a two-set lead slip against Wayne Jones in round one.

2006 would prove to be a breakthrough year for Wade, who ended a highly successful year ranked 11th in the world after reaching his first major final and hitting three nine-dart legs in competition.

His first perfect leg came in the UK Open North-West Regional Final, and was repeated in a Players Championship at Hayling Island, but the disappointment of missing out in the qualifiers for the Desert Classic saw Wade leave his job as a mechanic to become a full-time professional.

It paid immediate dividends in the World Matchplay, with wins over Denis Ovens, Kevin Painter, Chris Mason and Roland Scholten taking him into his first televised final, where he took on Phil Taylor and, despite leading early on, went down 18-11.

Following the World Matchplay, he reached three semi-finals and a final on the circuit before claiming victory in the Vauxhall Mens Singles event at Great Yarmouth, completing his hat-trick of nine-darters in the semi-finals of the event.

Those displays saw him crowned as the PDC's Young Player of the Year at the PDC Awards Dinner, and were followed by a run to the last 16 of the World Championship.

His progress to the top continued in fine style during 2007, when he enjoyed his most successful year yet on the circuit to claim two major titles and jump up to third in the PDC Order of Merit.

Wade won the UK Open North-West Regional Final, and reached three other Pro Tour finals in the first half of the year before going one better in the World Matchplay.

He swept to victory in Blackpool, taking victories against Wayne Jones, Dennis Priestley, Mervyn King, Adrian Lewis and Terry Jenkins, with unerring accuracy at the doubles allied to superb scoring.

Another Pro Tour win, in the UK Open Welsh Regional Final, was accompanied by three more visits to a final before the next major title came, at the 2007 World Grand Prix.

He included a 5-1 semi-final win over Raymond van Barneveld in the double-start event, before repeating his success over Jenkins to win the title.

October also saw Wade win the Scottish Regional Final and reach two more Pro Tour finals to continue his run of form, although Kevin McDine was to end his challenge at the Grand Slam of Darts in the second round.

The 2008 World Championship proved to be his most successful yet in the event, winning through to the quarter-finals before going down 5-4 to eventual champion John Part, but he was rewarded with the PDC Player of the Year and PDPA Players' Player of the Year awards.

He had also earned a debut in the Premier League, and defeated Taylor - previously unbeaten in three previous years of the event - on the opening night of the tournament.

Wade topped the league table for most of the campaign before being edged out by Taylor, and was also overcome in the final of the play-offs by the defending champion.

That form continued to see him enjoy a best-ever run in the UK Open, having only reached the last 16 in five previous appearances before battling all the way to the final in June 2008, before seeing off Gary Mawson to lift a third major title.

He had also won a Players Championship in Gibraltar in January, and the summer saw Wade reach the final of both the Desert Classic and the World Matchplay - with Taylor taking victory on both occasions, with their meeting in Blackpool being one of the greatest finals in history, with both players averaging over 100 before Taylor pulled clear for an 18-9 success.

Although he lost in the first round of the defence of his World Grand Prix title, to Tony Eccles, the autumn of 2008 saw Wade claim two Players Championship victories and also hit his first televised nine-darter, in a second round defeat to Gary Anderson at the Grand Slam of Darts.

Wade battled through to the semi-finals of the 2009 World Championship, although never hit his best form at Alexandra Palace before losing to Raymond van Barneveld.

He also reached the last four at the Players Championship finals, and victory in two PDC Pro Tour events came during a welcome return to form in the early stages of the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts, which included victory over Taylor.

He would go on to finish second in the league phase, again overcome van Barneveld in the semis before defeating Mervyn King to pick up a fourth major title as the new Premier League champion.

Wade bounced back from a third round loss to Peter Manley in the UK Open by reaching the semi-finals at the Las Vegas Desert Classic, where he went down to van Barneveld.

He overcame Anderson for the first time in his career at the World Matchplay, but was a quarter-final loser to Ronnie Baxter in Blackpool.

After being a Players Championship runner-up in Atlanta, Wade suffered a first round defeat to Dennis Priestley in the World Grand Prix, although he did pick up victory in a Players Championship in Holland and also reached the European Championship semi-finals, going down 11-10 to Steve Beaton.
 

Name:	James Wade
Nickname:	The Machine
Walk-On Music:	Two Tribes - Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Date of Birth:	6/4/1983
Place of Birth:	Aldershot
Current Home Town:	Aldershot
Darts Used:	20g Unicorn James Wade
TV Debut:	2002
Height:	6'
Website:	Click here

Major Titles
World Matchplay: 2007
World Grand Prix: 2007
UK Open: 2008
Premier League Darts: 2009

PDC non-televised tournament wins since 2005
Irish Masters 2005
Norfolk Mens Singles 2006
UK Open North-West Regional Final 2007
UK Open Welsh Regional Final 2007
UK Open Scottish Regional Final 2007
Players Championship (Gibraltar) 2008
Players Championship (Irvine) 2008
Players Championship (Leiden) 2008
UK Open North-West Regional Final 2009
Players Championship (Derby) 2009
Players Championship (Nuland) 2009

Nine-Dart Legs in PDC competitions
UK Open North-West Regional Final 2006
Players Championship (Hayling Island) 2006
Norfolk Mens Singles 2006
Grand Slam of Darts 2008 - Televised

Other Awards
PDC Young Player of the Year 2006
PDC Player of the Year 2007
PDPA Players' Player of the Year 2007
PDC Televised Performance of the Year 2008 (v Wayne Mardle, World Matchplay)