James Wade has called for one change to darts that Luke Littler will love (Image: Getty)
Before took the darting world by storm, was the original ‘new kid on the block’.
The English arrowsmith became the youngest-ever winner of a major when he lifted the 2007 World Matchplay title at Winter Gardens in Blackpool.
Fast forward almost two decades later and there isn’t much The Machine hasn’t seen, or won.
But, as Wade begins his transition towards becoming one of darts’ elder statesman, he’s called on the powers that be to introduce a major change to the sport – one that will be music to the ears of teenage sensation Littler.
“Just two months where there’s nothing,” Wade exclusively told Express Sport when asked what changes he’d make to darts if given the chance.
“You can do whatever you want for two months. We [darts players] never had that, but then again we complained when there weren’t enough tournaments.
“But it would nice to have an off-season of some description, where if you wanted to, you could go on holiday or just do nothing.”
Wade added: “I think most players would agree a two-month off-season would be a lovely thing to have.”
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Luke Littler has commanded all the attention since bursting on the scene (Image: Getty)
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It’s a move that’s likely to get Littler’s vote, given the 2024 runner-up has spoken about burnout fears in the past.
Commenting on his debut professional season earlier in the year, he claimed: “It’s very tough. We are coming home after whatever , waking up at stupid o’clock to go to a Euro Tour…
“I’ll just relax myself and then the Euro Tour. But I won’t burn myself out.”
Littler, , isn’t the only one, with players of all notoriety having commented on the strenuous darting schedule.
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On his reasoning behind introducing a two-month off-season, Wade continued: “A chance to put yourself in the right place mentally, as people assume because it’s darts, it’s not tiring or exhausting.
“It isn’t so much that. It’s the travelling, the mind games, the hotel room, the cars, the trains, the buses. All that crap builds up. There’s no official time in the year where we can say we’ve got two months, none of that stuff. We can just do what we want to do.
“You can’t take two months off [now], because everyone else is staying match ready. If you had two months off, it’s a hard thing to walk back into. And then there’s the rankings as well.”
The 2025 World Darts Championship continues from Alexandra Palace after the Christmas break on Friday afternoon.