James Wade out to topple Luke Humphries in Betfred World Matchplay semi-final

The pair meet at the Winter Gardens, after overcoming Ross Smith and Dimitri Van den Bergh in their respective quarter-finals.

Wade progressed to his ninth World Matchplay semi-final after averaging 100.30, hitting 13 180s and converting a trio of ton-plus checkouts to defeat Smith 16-10.

“For eight or nine legs I felt untouchable,” admitted the 2007 champion, who has featured in a further five finals.

“I felt like I was going to play one of the greatest games I’ve ever played. I didn’t in the end, but I did enough.

“I believe that Ross gave me the best of his game for 10-15 legs, and I feel I was still a little bit better without being at the peak of my game, so that’s a positive.”

Wade only sealed his qualification in last-gasp fashion earlier this month, overhauling Kevin Doets to become the final ProTour Order of Merit qualifier.

Victories over Danny Noppert, reigning champion Nathan Aspinall and Smith leave him two wins away from capping a remarkable comeback.

“I had pancreatitis and I wasn’t very well for a long, long, time,” revealed the 10-time TV title winner.

“I was really poorly and I accept that now. My own personal health and family comes before this game. I’ve just started to come through that.

“Life has changed for me a lot, so don’t think that because I’m not doing what I have done, it’s because James Wade can’t play darts anymore.”

Victory over Humphries would catapult Wade back into the world’s top 16, having already climbed four places after arriving in Blackpool as the world number 22.

“In my opinion I should be in the top 10,” continued Wade, who was ranked inside the world’s top four as recently as 2021.

“There’s lots of people that think other players are more capable than me. I don’t think they are. I think I can do the job.

“Unless I’m inside that top 10, I feel like I’m underachieving, but there are some great dart players about now.”

Humphries has been imperious in his run to the semi-finals, averaging 108, 102 and 101 in wins over Ricardo Pietreczko, Stephen Bunting and Van den Bergh.

Wade said: “Luke Humphries is a world class player. He’s a world champion and he just plays darts.

“It’s going to be a hard game, but if I play as well as I did against Ross, I probably won’t be that far away.”

Humphries dumped out 2020 champion Van den Bergh in reaching a second consecutive World Matchplay semi-final, producing a five-leg flurry from 11-10 to seal his progress.

The 29-year-old crashed in 12 maximums to continue his sparkling form, although he’s expecting his toughest test yet against Wade.

Humphries said: “James has come through a lot. He’s worked incredibly hard to get himself back into this position.

“I think many people underestimate him but I know how good he is, how mentally strong he is.

“I think there’s a lot more to come from James, but I hope it’s not on Saturday!”