James Wade took aim at the Austrian crowd after silencing their jeers to defeat home favourite Mensur Suljovic 6-2 and reach the final day of the Austrian Darts Open in Graz. Speaking to DartsNews, Wade, who averaged 103.20 in the win, said Suljovic wasn't the issue — it was the crowd that he took umbrage with. 'Oh, Mensur wasn’t the problem, was he? It was the crowd. But yeah, Mensur is easily dealt with and so is the crowd,' Wade said.
Wade didn't hold back in his criticism of the home fans, calling their behaviour 'pretty s***y' and lacking respect. 'I think it was pretty s***y to be fair, the crowd weren't respectful. Mensur wasn't great but the better player out of the two of us won, so it’s all good,' he added. When asked about his popularity compared to Suljovic, Wade quipped: 'More popular than some. Probably a little bit more popular than Mensur right now because I’ve just beaten him, so they’ve got to be my fans now, right?'
Wade also addressed his recent increased social media activity, denying it was a bid to secure a Premier League spot. Instead, he said it was for his children and to relaunch a project called Bullsite. 'I’m doing it for my children, really for memories. I’ve also got something called Bullsite that we’re going to start up again. I’m going to start having a bit more fun and not be so serious all the time,' he explained. He added that his best friend Lee Spooner is involved, and that his priorities are family, family again, and then charity and mental health awareness.
Wade insisted that all players who have made it this far in the tournament have done so on merit, without crowd interference. 'I mean, everyone tomorrow has earned their right to be there, and they're there for being a quality dart player without the crowd helping them win a game, you know. And whoever I play tomorrow, it will be, you know,' he said. His next opponent is Luke Woodhouse, with Kevin Doets or Ryan Joyce awaiting in the quarter-finals.
