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'How does he get to a tournament? Is it private jet?': James Wade says darts and golf is not comparable after Scottie Scheffler questioning

Originally posted on Dartsnews.com | Last updated Jul 23, 2025 10:08 AM ET

James Wade may have booked his place in a record-equalling 13th World Matchplay quarter-final, but it was his passionate defence of professional darts—and rejection of comparisons to golf—that stole the headlines in Blackpool on Tuesday night.

Following a nervy 11–7 win over Wessel Nijman, Wade launched into a blisteringly honest assessment of the demands placed on dart players, particularly when a reporter referenced world number one golfer Scottie Scheffler’s recent comments about pressure and perspective.

"You get golf—they’ve got this whole new organisation they’ve moved across to, and I don’t even know what’s going on, if I’m honest with you," said Wade post match.

“Why do you play golf at a competitive level? To supply for your family. All I do is I take me hat off to them. They’re all earning a bundle of money. And no one really cares about what people think within reason. As long as you try your best when you’re at that stage, at that pinnacle of the game… you know.”

But any direct comparison between darts and golf didn’t sit well with the 42-year-old. “It’s non-comparable,” Wade said firmly. “Golf players aren’t even close to being on the pressure or the pedestal that dart players are put upon.

“How does he [Scheffler] get to a tournament? Is it a private jet? Right. So when I get on an EasyJet flight… you’re laughing and joking, but seriously.

“He doesn’t have to get on a happy bus. He doesn’t have to do all those things. It’s non-comparable, really. I think you should perhaps do what dart players do and see what they have to see, and do what they have to do, you know.”

Wade didn’t stop there. “It’s quite amazing what dart players achieve when they don’t have all that up their bottom, you know. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to get in a private jet. I’d love to be in a backwards entrance in an airport. But, you know, I’m a dart player. I will do EasyJet. I will do Ryanair. Because I am what I am.”

Referencing the physical and logistical demands of the tour, he challenged the room directly. “Would you travel 12 hours to get to a floor tournament? Would you do that three times in a week? No, you wouldn’t. So I think you should probably reflect… and I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way.”

Despite the emotion behind his words, Wade was quick to clarify he wasn’t lashing out at the comparison itself—just the misunderstanding of what top-level darts really involves.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean that in a rude way. That’s just how it really is. There’s no PDC player that gets any special treatment. I wish I was. I wish I did. If this guy wants to invite me on his private jet to go to a tournament, I’m your man. I might even wash his car before it.”

“That Was Awful”

The win over Nijman may have been significant on paper, but Wade was far from pleased with how he played.

“I didn’t actually enjoy it. Tonight I felt really, really nervous, felt unsettled, didn’t feel right. So yeah, just happy to win the game and get it out of the way.”

Asked if it was worrying for other players that he could win playing like that, Wade laughed: “It felt awful. Felt really unsettled. I was nervous, I was shaking. I was negative towards myself.”

And yet, even amid the nerves and negativity, Wade's experience told. “Nicking legs—that’s about it really. That was the most important thing I did there.”

He rejected the notion that he’s hitting title-winning form. “No. No. You need a bit of timing. You need a bit of luck.”

Despite 13 quarter-final appearances at the Matchplay, he shrugged off the stat: “It’s irrelevant. You know, it is what it is. Am I doing well enough? Probably not.”

Wade started the press conference asking for positivity. “Let’s make it about darts and not all the other bits and bobs. I want to go and eat fish and chips with my wife after this. This isn’t that important.”

None of this is important admits Wade compared to family life.

The older Wade gets, the more his focus shifts away from trophies and accolades—and towards his family. “I know I’m one of the best—probably top ten in the world at the moment, maybe. But more important for me, I want to go see my wife, Arthur and Alfred. I’m winning, aren’t I? None of this is important. It’s really not.”

That love and grounding from his family extends to his motivation on the oche. “The most important thing for me is my family—my boys, Arthur and Alfred. If I can support them and give them something different that I didn’t have… that’s all I want. They’re the best things in the world to me.”

Wade also reflected warmly on the parenting example set by another darting great. “Michael van Gerwen is one of the biggest wind-up... I’m not going to use too many words… but his children, they are everything to him. He will put them before anything and anyone. And I take that after him for that, you know.”

“It Didn’t Feel Right… But I Did Enough”

Even though he wasn’t at his best, Wade still punished Nijman when it mattered. "He missed so many shots and so many opportunities, or did I make him miss those? I don’t know. I’m just really happy, you know.”

“The first game, I played really, really well. This one—I went up there, I was nervous, I was detached, it didn’t feel right.”

Despite that, he maintained composure, as always. “It’s like a duck—calm on top, and then paddling underneath. I think there’s a lot of players like that.”

Asked if his cool demeanour masked how hard it is, he smiled: “It’s not like putting the kettle on. No. But I appreciate the compliment.”

“Have I Got Gian van Veen, Or Has He Got Me?”

Next up for Wade is a quarter-final clash with Dutch star Gian van Veen. “Have I got van Veen, or has van Veen got me? Depends how you look at it, doesn’t it?”

Asked for his thoughts on the game: “Not really, no. Don’t really care. I’ve just started playing all right again. I’m not going to not look you in the eyes and go, ‘I think I’ll do all right.’ It is what it is.”

The good news for Wade? A day off. “If you’d said I didn’t have a day off, I’d have been like, ‘I don’t want to do that.’ But now I’ve got a day off, I’m happy as Larry.”