James Wade issued a bold statement to his fellow players and fans about Luke Littler last night.
Wade dumped defending World Matchplay Champion Nathan Aspinall out of the tournament last night to reach the quarter-final for the first time since 2019.
Littler crashed out in the first round after succumbing to three-time champion Michael van Gerwen despite averaging in three figures.
‘The Nuke’ was distraught with his performance and labelled it ‘embarrassing’ in a now-deleted post on Instagram.
Wade, however, has shown his support for the 17-year-old and has urged other players to do the same.
James Wade insists country must support Luke Littler
‘The Machine’ showered the teenager with praise in his post-match interview and speaking to Darts Now, he credited his impact on the sport as ‘phenomenal.’
He said: “Will the magic continue? I hope so because darts needs someone like him. He’s influential and financially viable and a great pull.
“I’m interested in seeing what he’s doing you know. He will have a downturn [in form], that’s 100% it will happen. But what I wanna see is rather than the UK get on his back and give him a bit of a hard time including other dart players, is support him a little bit.
“He will have a downturn and he will struggle, and he will find things hard, and then we’ll see what he’s really about.”
Wade continued: “For what he’s done for the game so far you know, people like me can only be indebted to someone like him because I don’t think he even realises what he’s doing to be honest with you, he’s phenomenal.”
A touch of class from Wade
Wade’s post-match interviews can often be erratic and disjointed but last night he spoke with class.
It is easy to forget Littler is a 17-year-old kid given his incredible success and immense star power.
Wade, an 11-time major champion, is one of the most experienced players on tour and his concern for Littler is admirable.
Peaks and troughs in form happen to the very best and when the youngster does hit a rough patch, it’s important he retains the support he currently has.
The PDC have done an excellent job in managing and protecting their superstar thus far and it’s admirable of Wade to highlight future concerns as eloquently as he did.