James Wade wins Players Championship 1, sends message to PDC over Premier League snub

James Wade has sent a clear message to the PDC over his Premier League snub by winning Players Championship 1 in Hildesheim.

The left-hander, along with Nathan Aspinall, were among those to narrowly miss out on a wildcard for the eight-player, 17-week invitational event.

However, those two players would contest the final in Germany on Monday, Wade surviving a comeback from his opponent to run out an 8-6 victor.

At 5-4 down, Wade produced back-to-back 11-darters to move him closer to victory, and a four-leg surge towards the back end of the contest ultimately proved to be decisive.

In his run to the final, Wade incredibly came through four last-leg deciders, including against Michael van Gerwen in the semi-finals.

Jeffrey De Graff, Mensur Suljovic and Joe Cullen were also defeated as he claimed just his second floor tournament title since the start of 2023.

"Wasn't bad, was it?!" ?

James Wade checks in with Abigail Davies after winning the first Players Championship event of the year.

? https://t.co/YyBPPwoMK8 #PC1 pic.twitter.com/HKw4RF0t4I

— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) February 9, 2026

Meanwhile, Aspinall ended the run of Beau Greaves in the last 16, but the Stockport thrower continues to wait for his first floor title since 2022.

Wade moves up PDC Order of Merit

As a result of his win, Wade has moved into eighth place in the PDC Order of Merit, improving from 11th position.

Aspinall remains in 14th spot, with World Championship semi-finalist Ryan Searle the big loser on Monday courtesy of dropping down three positions to 11th place.

Further down the world rankings, Wessel Nijman continued on an upward trajectory, with his quarter-final appearance moving him into 26th position.