Darts / Ralph Ellis / 17 July 2008 /

Best of order, please. This week we're on the oche waiting for the Stan James World Matchplay darts to start in Blackpool on Sunday. Betfair went to meet last year's winner James Wade for an exclusive chat.

James, we hear you've been in Holland practising with Raymond van Barneveld. What was that like?

JW: Very, very different to what I'm used to. It was like being in solitary confinement. When they practice in Holland they like to have everything very silent and really, really concentrated. It was okay, I suppose, but not what I'm used to though. They really made me push myself. We did best of 13 sets about midday, and then at about six o'clock at night they wanted to do best of 11. So I was doing 24 sets of darts a day which is a lot more than I normally do. I normally practice for about an hour or two at the most. That's enough for me.

Are you in some form after that then?

I hope so. I think I'm just starting to find my best anyway. It was funny because in the UK Open, even though I won, I didn't actually play that well. I just hit the right shots at the right time which is a big part of darts, getting the shots that hurt your opponent. I think that's what I did in the UK Open. My form is starting to come back again, though.

The World Matchplay was your breakthrough tournament when you got to the final two years ago, then your first big win last year. What's so special about it?

It's just a lovely, lovely tournament. It's the best. It's legs, which I prefer to play, I don't like playing in sets, and the atmosphere is always brilliant, it really is the best by far in my opinion and in most other players opinions too. The crowd number is right too, it's just perfect, if you have too many people in a dark hall it can be quite noisy. They tend to behave themselves a bit more in Blackpool.

We know you love cars and you bought your BMW out of last year's winnings. Is that still a good idea with petrol prices the way they are?

Ha - it's not too much of a worry at the moment but it could be! I need to make sure I win it again!

You were the youngest to win a PDC televised event. How do the older players react to you?

I guess it's the same as anything when you are learning your trade, whether you are an apprentice mechanic in a back street garage or a young professional footballer. In any walk of life when you are one of the youngest and you are coming through the older ones give you a hard time to see how far they can push you and how strong you are as a person. That's part of being an apprentice in anything you do. I think there's only a few now that try tricks against me because they know it is not going to work.

We've heard a lot in snooker about a new breed of younger players who are fitter and more disciplined and dedicated. Is it the same in darts?

I think if you look at the size of us younger ones compared to some of the others, it's obvious that some of us do a bit more in that respect. I think there is a new generation of players coming through. It's proven. Even Phil has had to change his ways as the standard of the game went up. Everyone said he wasn't playing that well for a while, and maybe his form did drop a little bit, but I think it was because everyone was getting closer to him. All of a sudden this man called Ray Barneveld came over and started beating him which upset his form for a while. Now Phil's come back and is better than he's ever been

Do you spend time in the gym yourself?

I don't, but I still do a bit of work to keep my boredom levels down. I'm not going to make a big deal out of going for walks and having a little run now and then, but I do those things. I wouldn't say I'm a frequent fitness fanatic though.

What about technology, video analysis and things. Has that got into darts?

I don't use anything like that myself, but I know Ray Barneveld has and so has Phil Taylor. I think you can go too far into it, which is what Ray has done at the moment. He's thinking too much. He'll probably go and win in Blackpool now I've said that, but he's really worrying about what he's throwing, what he's doing differently, he really is. Some of the things he was saying to me this weekend were daft. Why is he worrying so much when he's so good?

What about the technology in the darts themselves? Is that changing too?

I think there's only so far you can go with something like that. It's what you feel comfortable with. I spoke to the bloke who designs my darts. He's an aerospace engineer. He comes into Unicorn and starts talking about the 'oscillation' or something like that of a dart and what it should be, how it goes up and down in the air when you throw it, and says if you can level that to a minimum the dart will be more accurate. The option he gave me though I couldn't throw because I just didn't feel comfortable with it. I used to throw Phil Taylor darts until I signed up with Unicorn and they made my own. I don't want to change them much more.

So it's back to that man Phil Taylor again. He's beaten you in a couple of finals lately. Is he still the top man?

Yeah - but I've not yet played him in a proper final where we've not had the semi-final on the same day. I want to play him in a final where I haven't played a semi. That's what I want, and hopefully this year I can make that happen.

What makes him so special?

I really don't know - but I do know in a fresh game I can give him a go, I know I can. In Las Vegas I was drained from my Peter Manley game. No excuse, but it wasn't me playing up there, in the Premier League final as well that wasn't me, I'd played a semi-final before. What I want to do is play him when I'm fresh.

Tell us about young Ricky Williams who you sponsor.

Young Ricky? He's pretty much a version of what I was like a few years ago. Sometimes he forgets to take it seriously enough. But he's starting to win a few tournaments now, local ones, but that's how you start. He's a very good player and he loves the game too. That's the nice thing to stand back and see he actually likes the game. I would say I love the game, but at times I don't like it because of the pressures that are there now that weren't there for me a few years ago. The good things outweigh the bad things, of course.

So are you looking forward to this tournament?

Yeah - just a bit nervous though. I'm always nervous before tournaments, but I feel a bit funny about this one. I don't know what it is. I'm excited too, maybe I'm confusing that with nerves. I'm not one to lie, I do get very nervous before games and before tournaments. A lot of players say they don't, but I'm sure they do.

We'll wish you luck. We've a free £50 bet for you favourite charity.

I'll give that to the Phyllis Tuckwell hospice in Surrey where my granddad went before he passed away, bless him. There's more information on what they do on www.phyllistuckwellhospice.org. Like you said I love cars and motors, so my bet will be for Lewis Hamilton to win the German Grand Prix at [3.2]. After Silverstone he should be on a roll.

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