James Wade said he felt “disheartened” after Mickey Mansell declined to return a handshake following Wade’s 6-3 win at the Players Championship Finals in Minehead. Wade, determined not to suffer an early exit like several others, produced two ton-plus checkouts and hit 50% of his doubles to see off the 52-year-old Northern Irishman.
After the match Wade offered his hand and looked for eye contact, but Mansell did not acknowledge him, leaving Wade puzzled. The Machine described Mansell as a tricky opponent because of his slow, methodical tempo and told reporters: “I shook his hand, said ‘best of luck’ and all that stuff but he wouldn’t give it back to me and I was a little bit disheartened to be fair, but it is what it is.”
Wade will face either Joe Cullen or Peter Wright in the second round on Saturday.
Away from the board, Wade welcomed the PDC’s confirmation that the 2026 World Championship winner will receive a £1m prize at Alexandra Palace. He recalled Barry Hearn’s long-standing pledge, saying he remembered Hearn telling him more than 15 years ago in South Africa: ‘World Championship, £1m to the winner,’ to which he thought ‘Oh, okay.’ Wade praised Hearn and Matchroom for the work they’ve done to grow the sport.
Earlier this year Wade ended a near three-year wait for a PDC ranking title by winning Players Championship 19 in Leicester, defeating Scott Williams 8-3 with a 101.52 average. That win moved him back into the world’s top eight and marked a significant moment after a spell in which illness had dented his form and he dropped from world No.3 to outside the top 20. “I’m really, really happy. It’s been a difficult few years for me,” he said.
Wade also reached the World Matchplay final in Blackpool in July, losing 18-13 to Luke Littler, but he later beat the teenager at the European Championship in Dortmund in October.