World Matchplay specialist James Wade reached his seventh final at the iconic Winter Gardens after an epic 20-18 victory over Jonny Clayton – a match that will be remembered for years.
Except by James himself who has probably forgotten what happened already.
Fans crammed into the Blackpool venue were treated to an opening semi-final blockbuster. It had everything – well, almost everything.
No Big Fish, no nine-darter. So technically not remotely close to everything, but in terms of tension, relentless scoring, outrageous finishing, and that classic “is he actually going to pull this off?” energy – it ticked all the boxes and then some.On paper, it had all the makings of a long-haul belter.
And, as it turns out, paper doesn’t lie. But if you’d only seen the first two sessions, you’d have been forgiven for thinking this was shaping into a Wade procession. He led 7-3, then stretched it to 10-5 by the third ad break – probably already salivating about the five-day-old pizza waiting in the fridge of his Blackpool digs. Wade’s throw, as ever, was locked down tighter than a biscuit tin at a slimming club.
When the scoreboard read 16-10, it felt like Jonny Clayton was climbing a mountain in bowling shoes.But credit where it’s due – this was one super furry animal who refused to roll over. The Ferret got his claws out, scrapped like a rodent possessed, and somehow dug himself back into contention.
Even Jonny must’ve thought the comeback was more fantasy than fact – but he clawed all the way to 16-16, dragging the match into the “must win by two” territory.
What followed was five successive holds of throw. Tense. Wade had one dart to win it and missed. Clayton, by now powered by pure adrenaline and quiet fury, kept the pressure on.
But eventually, as if it was written somewhere in the stars (or possibly in the Wade family group chat), the 2007 Matchplay champion landed the killer blow – breaking throw, breaking Welsh hearts, and booking himself into yet another final.It was biblical. It was exhausting. It was very, very Wade.
After the match, a weary Machine running on fumes wandered into the press room – told us all he was absolutely knackered, then tried to convince us that a man winning a World Matchplay semi-final with a ton-plus average was somehow lucky. I wasn’t buying that nonsense … and made a mental note to probe his theory later.
Personally, after being dragged back from the brink in such dramatic fashion, I believe it takes a special kind of player not to let their head drop – and to still go on and triumph. James Wade agreed… sort of.
So that’s precisely what I opened with:”Only four players in history could’ve pulled that off tonight – Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen… and I can’t even think of another. I probably shouldn’t be one of them!”
We never did get to find out who the elusive fourth was. Plenty of candidates, but none named. Classic Wade. But after hearing him repeatedly describe himself as “lucky” – to someone who can barely average 60, mind you – I eventually had to call him out.
“Honestly, I’m just happy to be here. Someone like me – apparently old and out of date – has watched all the greats come through this week, and yet somehow, I’m the one in the final. It’s quite mad, really. But now, I am genuinely exhausted. I had more luck than anyone in that semi-final. Jonny should’ve buried me.”
Well, that didn’t work. So I resorted to forcefully telling him to give himself more credit. That one finally seemed to land.”Cheers, buddy,” said The Machine, and off he went.
James Wade, ladies and gentlemen – a man who probably believes Lewis Hamilton won multiple Formula One World Championships simply because he was a pretty decent driver.
