Darts fans will be glued to their TV screens over the next few weeks with the World Championship underway (Image: GETTY)
Darts star James Wade has admitted he gets distracted during the as the tournament is played over the festive period. The 41-year-old fell at the first hurdle on Monday as he was by Jermaine Wattimena in his opening match.
Wade reached his fourth World Championship semi-final in 2022 but has never made it all the way to the showpiece match.
And he has now been knocked out in the second round in each of the last three seasons.
Ahead of his showdown with Wattimena, he explained during an interview with : “The hardest thing for me is that I struggle around the World Championships because it’s Christmas time.
“I get quite distracted. It’s probably one of the few times of year that I’m quite happy and enjoy things. I kind of, not resent the game, but I get a little bit annoyed that darts is on at Christmas time.
“I’ve been doing it for 24 years – I know it’s on at Christmas time – I don’t know why I act shocked every year. It’s that and the timescale. It’s a long tournament for me to keep my head in the right place.”
James Wade admitted he gets ‘distracted’ at the World Championship. (Image: Getty)
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Wade has enjoyed a decent run of results in recent months but was in dismal form at Ally Pally as he lost eight legs on the bounce across three sets. And Wattimena swept to a 3-0 victory to set up a third round showdown with either two-time champion Peter Wright or Wesley Plaisier.
“I think I’ll win a Major in the next 12 months, definitely,” Wade explained as he previewed his match against Wattimena. “But I set myself a target for the back end of this year and that was the top 10. I’ll be there or there abouts.
“We’ll do one thing at a time. Hopefully that will come and things will work out – they always do eventually.
Jermaine Wattimena defeated James Wade at the World Darts Championship on Monday (Image: GETTY)
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“I think it affects more people than me that I haven’t won it. But obviously if I did win it, it would be the last ticked box. Then I’d say I’ve completed what I needed to do. But I still think I’ve got it in me.”
Teenage sensation Luke Littler is the favourite to win the World Championship title this winter after reaching last season’s final.
Reigning champion Luke Humphries is second favourite, while Gary Anderson and Michael van Gerwen have also been tipped to be in the running to land silverware.