A Maiden World Series Title, Five Years in the Waiting
Wade’s win ends a long wait for a televised title. His last was the UK Open back in 2021, and Saturday’s final in Wollongong was his first PDC World Series of Darts title of any kind. He did it despite being outscored on the night — Klinge, the Australian home qualifier, actually posted the higher average of the two at 104.56 to Wade’s 101.62 across the best-of-15 final, opening with a 180 of his own, but it was Wade who found the finishing when it mattered to close out the match 8-5.
Wade’s Route to the Title
Wade had to survive a scare in the quarter-final against Stephen Bunting, coming back from 5-2 down and saving a match dart before landing a 164 checkout and breaking throw in the deciding leg to win 6-5 (Wade averaged 98.57 to Bunting’s 95.60). In the semi-final he beat 2024 Australian Darts Masters champion Gerwyn Price 7-4, firing eight maximums along the way and averaging 101.27.
James Wade — Finals Day, Australian Darts Masters 2026
Klinge’s own run to the final was the story of the home contingent — the Australian qualifier beat top seed Gian van Veen 6-4 in the quarter-final before falling to Wade in the final. Elsewhere in the last eight, Price beat Josh Rock 6-2 and Jonny Clayton beat Damon Heta 6-3.
What It Means for the Season
The Australian Darts Masters was the final ‘regular’ leg of the 2026 World Series of Darts before the circuit regroups for the Finals in Amsterdam, with the top 24 players on the World Series Order of Merit sealing their place there. The winner’s share from a £100,000 prize pot — £30,000, against £16,000 for the runner-up, £10,000 for each semi-finalist and £5,000 for each losing quarter-finalist — gives Wade a timely boost on that standings table just as the qualification picture for Amsterdam locks in. See our breakdown of the World Series Order of Merit for where the rest of the field stands.
It caps a Down Under double-header that also saw Jonny Clayton win the New Zealand Darts Masters in Auckland the previous week. For the full 16-player field that travelled to Wollongong, see our field preview. Track how Wade and the rest of the tour stack up on the live PDC Order of Merit.