James Wade wins sudden death thriller against Damon Heta with bullseye finish

Two-time champion Wade checked out on 121 to beat the Australian.

Pa Sport Staff
Sunday 03 October 2021 16:55 EDT
James Wade won a thriller to reach the second round (Kieran Cleeves/PA)
James Wade won a thriller to reach the second round (Kieran Cleeves/PA) (PA Archive)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

James Wade produced a brilliant bullseye finish to reach the second round of the World Grand Prix in Leicester.

Two-time champion Wade checked out on 121 to beat Australian Damon Heta in a sudden death decider.

Heta surged into a 2-0 lead in the first set and hit a second 180 in the third leg.

But missed doubles cost him dear and number four seed Wade rattled off three legs to take the set.

Heta levelled to take the match into a third set decider and it went all the way before Wade won the fifth leg in the most dramatic fashion.

Daryl Gurney the 2017 champion, lost 2-0 to Stephen Bunting and Mervyn King beat Martijn Kleermaker by the same scoreline

Ross Smith marked his first Grand Prix appearance with a 2-0 victory over fellow Englishman Joe Cullen.

“I’ve had a lot of mates who’ve helped me out with the practice side of it,” Smith said.

“They’ve kept me on the dartboard in the last three or four weeks, so I have to thank my mates for that.”

Dave Chisnall beat Mensur Suljovic 2-1 and Luke Humphries overcame Dirk Van Duijvenbode 2-0.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in