England’s James Wade beat qualifier Brody Klinge to win the Australian Masters final and clinch his first World Series of Darts title.
The 43-year-old composed himself to earn an 8-5 victory, holding off a thrilling comeback from Klinge in a dramatic best-of-15 final in Wollongong, New South Wales.
It was the 10-time PDC major winner’s first World Series title in what was his third final, coming 13 years after he made his debut in the competition in Dubai.
Australian Klinge, 34, threatened to provide one of the stories of the World Series after becoming only the second qualifier ever to reach a final, but after coming back from 6-2 down to 6-5, he was unable to complete a fairytale win.
“Perhaps I thought I would get a nice easy win, but I didn’t,” Wade told the packed Entertainment Centre.
“I had to graft and I had to work really hard. I will be really, really disappointed if this man doesn’t pursue what he is doing.”
Klinge, the Australian Darts Association number one, produced a stunning 6-5 win over European champion Ross Smith in the opening round and followed that up with victories over Dutchman Gian van Veen in the last eight and Wales’ Jonny Clayton – winner of last week’s New Zealand Masters – in the semi-finals.
But world number six Wade, who finished the final with an average of 101.62, provided a further step up in class that he was not able to overcome.
“It’s been absolutely amazing – the crowd has been behind me the whole time and I have really enjoyed the whole experience,” said Klinge.
“I just cannot believe I am up here, honestly.”
Wade, who beat Stephen Bunting in a decider and Gerwyn Price on route to the final, won four consecutive legs to go 6-2 up against Klinge, but a combination of fine play from the Australian and the vociferous home crowd appeared to knock him off his stride.
Yet the player known as ‘The Machine’ held his nerve to go to within one leg of victory at 7-5, then produced a 60 finish after shutting out a torrent of boos before facing the crowd and pointing to his ears in celebration.
“Obviously I had all the crowd support here tonight which made it all the sweeter,” Wade said, speaking directly to the crowd in jest.
“Unfortunately my scores were louder than your cheers.”
Following the sixth and final event of the World Series of Darts’ regular season, the Finals will now be held from 17 to 20 September in Amsterdam.
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