James Wade has waited a long time for this one. On a raucous Saturday night in Wollongong, “The Machine” finally collected his first World Series of Darts title, seeing off Australian qualifier Brody Klinge 8-5 in the final of the KenoGO Australian Darts Masters.
The WIN Entertainment Centre was bouncing as the local hope pushed the 11-time major winner all the way, but experience and ice-cool finishing told in the end.
Wade averaged 101.62 across the best-of-15 legs while Klinge, remarkably, posted an even higher 104.56 yet still came up short. It was a typical Wade performance — controlled, clinical when it mattered, and built on a day of high-quality darts. In the quarter-finals he produced one of the comebacks of the tournament, trailing Stephen Bunting 5-2 before fighting back. A brilliant 164 checkout kept him alive when Bunting sat waiting on a double, and Wade then broke throw in the deciding leg to edge through 6-5.
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The semi-final against Gerwyn Price was more one-sided. Wade piled in eight maximums and averaged 101.27 to dispatch the 2024 champion 7-4, booking his place in the final with authority.Klinge’s journey to the showpiece had the home crowd dreaming. The Australian qualifier had already knocked out Ross Smith in a last-leg thriller on Friday and followed it up by ending Gian van Veen’s challenge 6-4 in the last eight.
In the semi-finals he produced the moment of the session, sealing a 7-5 victory over Jonny Clayton with a spectacular 170 checkout that sent the arena wild. Earlier in the day Price had brushed aside Josh Rock 6-2, while Clayton accounted for Damon Heta 6-3.
Yet it was Wade who looked the most complete player throughout the weekend. His tournament had begun with a breathtaking 112.73 average whitewash of Tim Pusey, and he never really dropped far below that standard.
For Klinge it was a night to remember despite the defeat — a genuine fairytale run that announced him as a serious talent. For Wade it was long-overdue validation on the World Series stage after previous final heartbreaks.
The Machine is a World Series champion at last, and the road to Amsterdam’s World Series Finals just got a little more interesting.
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Images: James O’Connor/PDC
