James Wade Beats Brody Klinge to Claim First World Series Darts Title

James Wade won his first World Series of Darts title by defeating Australian qualifier Brody Klinge 8-5 in the Australian Masters final in Wollongong, New South Wales. BBC Sport reported that the 43-year-old Englishman resisted a strong comeback from Klinge to prevail in the best-of-15-leg contest at the Entertainment Centre.

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Wade entered the final after two demanding knockout matches. He beat Stephen Bunting in a deciding leg before overcoming Gerwyn Price in the semi-finals. Against Klinge, the world number six established control by winning four successive legs and moving into a 6-2 lead, putting himself two legs from the championship.

Klinge had already produced an exceptional run through the field. The 34-year-old, ranked number one by the Australian Darts Association, beat European champion Ross Smith 6-5 in the opening round. He then eliminated Gian van Veen in the quarter-finals and defeated Jonny Clayton, the previous week's New Zealand Masters winner, in the last four. Klinge became only the second qualifier to reach a World Series final.

The Australian extended that run by cutting Wade's 6-2 advantage to 6-5 as the home crowd backed his recovery. Wade stopped the momentum by taking the next leg for a 7-5 lead. He then completed a 60 checkout to close the match, finishing the final with an average of 101.62.

The result ended Wade's long wait for a World Series trophy. The 10-time PDC major champion had reached two earlier finals in the series but had not won one, despite making his World Series debut in Dubai 13 years ago. His latest success also followed a major-title drought dating to his UK Open victory in 2021.

For Klinge, defeat did not diminish a tournament in which he eliminated three established European opponents before pushing Wade deep into the final. The Australian Masters was the sixth and final event of the World Series regular season. The World Series Finals are scheduled for September 17-20 in Amsterdam.