Darts Expert & Columnist @Wayne501Mardle
James Wade is one of the most successful darts players to have ever graced the oche, who should "give himself a bit more credit sometimes", believes Wayne Mardle.
Wade, a Premier League winner in 2009, won a thrilling final to take victory against Jonny Clayton in the Premier League at Dublin's 3Arena on Thursday.
He had defeated Michael Van Gerwen in his quarter-final opener before going on to edge past Clayton 6-5 in the final for his second win of the competition.
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'The Machine' was in sensational form in the first semi-final as he set a personal-highest average on TV of 114.73 with a 6-1 demolition of Gerwyn Price. He hit six doubles from seven attempts and landed a ten-darter.
"Wade has got the game - we know that - and he knows that" Mardle told Sky Sports. "He always mentions a lot about 'rubbish players, like me' and 'under the radar'. James Wade never goes under the radar, but he performances every now and again do.
"When he produced that 114.73 average he looked immaculate and everything about him and what he was doing was fantastic.
"He sometimes plays himself down and he shouldn't because he's one of the best champions darts has ever had.
"Because he hasn't won a world title, people do think, 'ah, that's not happened' but who cares. He's one of the most successful players that's ever lived and he should give himself a bit more credit sometimes."
The victory for Wade makes it his second night win in the 2022 Premier League, and moves him within four points of Clayton at the top of the table - and level on points with Van Gerwen in second.
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His semi-final win over Price will live long in the memory and Wade said: "It's a great game to be involved in, but it's just nice to mix it with the best darts players in the world.
"Every match tonight had a special moment to it. I wouldn't say it was my best performance but statistically it was my best by a country mile.
"I've been involved in other games and situations where I've been right up against it. When I come off afterwards I thought I had got a bit lucky, but then when people relayed the statistics to me, I just thought 'wow'."
The Premier League action continues on Thursday, May 5 at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow with just four more regular league nights to play.