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'I'm still not at my best' - James Wade makes 'lucky' admission after stunning Grand Slam comeback

James Wade (Photo Credit: Kieran Cleeves/PDC)

James Wade and Luke Humphries will meet in the semi-finals of the Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts after coming through epic quarter-final contests on Friday.

Wade defeated Josh Rock 16-15 in dramatic fashion, while Humphries beat Gary Anderson 16-14 on an unforgettable night of action in Wolverhampton which saw 61 of a possible 62 legs played.

Wade produced a stunning fightback to defeat Rock, winning the last four legs to battle back from 12-15 down.

Rock missed his first match dart at double top to win 16-14, as Wade dig deep to take the contest the distance.

A nerve-wracking deciding leg saw Wade miss double 14 for a 121 checkout, which gave Rock the chance to win it on tops.

However, the Northern Irishman went high with all three darts, allowing Wade a look at 28.

The drama continued as Wade slipped into the double 11 bed to leave six and after seemingly blocking double three with his first dart, he found a way through to the target to seal a memorable win.

"To hit the doubles like I did at the end, there's not many players who can do that," said a jubilant Wade.

"I got a bit lucky, Josh was way better than me tonight. I'm still not at my best but I'll always keep fighting.

"I don't think there's anyone better than me in those high-pressure situations, but I have to be good in those moments because other players score better than me.

"When I got the chance at double 14 I thought Christmas had come early, then I hit double 11 and thought 'you silly boy!' Thankfully I hit probably the best double three of my life.

"I enjoyed the interaction with the crowd tonight, they were brilliant to me and I'm looking forward to coming back on Sunday."

Wade was quickest out the traps, racing into a 3-0 lead, before Rock warmed to his task and levelled at 4-4.

Rock, who averaged 101.31 and produced three ton-plus checkouts in his first televised quarter-final, took the lead for the first time at 11-10.

The World Youth Champion took four of the next six legs to lead 15-12 to seemingly take control of the tie, only for Wade to show his trademark resilience in winning the final four legs.

Photo Credit: Kieran Cleeves/PDC

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