James Wade complains Michael van Gerwen 'had a lot more help backstage' during Premier League final
- Sean Fisher
- 14 June 2022
Michael van Gerwen won a record sixth Premier League Darts title on Monday evening, but James Wade believes the Dutchman was given more help by the backstage staff at the event.
Michael van Gerwen joined Phil Taylor as the only players to have ever won six Premier League titles on Monday night.
Mighty Mike fought off James Wade in the semi-finals before beating Joe Cullen in the final to scoop the £275,000 prize.
It was a dramatic day of action in Berlin's Mercedes-Benz arena, with many labelling the final one of the best darting events of the year.
Both semi-finals ended up as fairly one-sided affairs though, with Van Gerwen putting on a dominant display to beat James Wade 10-4, while Cullen matched the result in his semi-final clash against Jonny Clayton.
In the final Van Gerwen and Cullen went head-to-head in a fiercely contested clash, with the Dutchman's experience eventually helping him to an 11-10 win over his Bradford-born opponent.
That winning feeling… pic.twitter.com/x94SKZmFR1
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) June 14, 2022
But while Van Gerwen's performances were worthy of the title, Wade complained after his semi-final loss that he was helped more backstage.
Following his loss, Wade said "Unfortunately I wasn't good enough but it is what it is. There was many other things attributing to the game but it is what it is,"said Wade.
"I think that there was a lot of things that went on backstage that didn't favour me but I can't talk too much about it. Michael had a lot more help backstage than I did but he was the better player, he was far better than me."
VAN GERWEN INTO THE FINAL!
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) June 13, 2022
After a tense opening few legs, Michael van Gerwen lit fire and races into the final with a 10-4 victory over James Wade!
He will face Joe Cullen for the 2022 Cazoo Premier League title! pic.twitter.com/CLsv4bvwIJ
Wade didn't elaborate on how Van Gerwen was helped backstage, but it was clear that the 39-year-old was far from pleased with the Berlin venue.
Having won the Premier League back in 2009, Wade was looking to win the title for the second time in his career on Monday evening, but will now have to find out whether he is in next year's eight-player shortlist for the competition.
