‘Bashed up’ James Wade breaks silence after action-packed UK Open in 150-word statement

JAMES WADE has broken his silence following an action-packed UK Open.

The Machine, 41, played his way into the Minehead final after a thrilling string of games including wins over Josh Rock, Luke Humphries, Rob Owen and Cameron Menzies.

However, Wade was undone in the final by a superb Luke Littler, who won the match 11-2.

Wade still pocketed a handy £50,000 for finishing as the runner-up, but admitted he ran out of steam by the end of day as he said Littler “bashed me up”.

It was his first final in any tournament since the European Championships in 2023 and first UK Open final since 2021 – beating Humphries in that final.

Sunday was his fourth UK Open final appearance, but this was the first time he had lost in the final.

Wade released a 150-word statement on social media following the defeat.

He said: “I’m still standing.

“A massive thank you to all the support over the weekend at the
@Ladbrokes UK Open and especially yesterday.

“What a weekend, I have said for a while that I feel that I am getting back to my best, and some of the best darts I have thrown for a long while on show this weekend.

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“Heavy scoring, grit, determination and having fun. I really enjoyed myself, and finding the love of darts again.

“Congratulations to Luke Littler on his first UK Open, I run out of steam in the end and as I said yesterday.

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“He really bashed me up. I am looking forward to see what this young man does in the game of darts.

“Now let’s see what the rest of the year holds for me.

“Again, thank you to all the support from family, fans, sponsors and management. You make it all possible.”

Next up on the darts calendar is Night 5 of the Premier League, but the next time Wade is likely to be in action is at the Belgian Darts Open next weekend.

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