THE pain of defeat is already just a distant memory for James Wade as he stormed to victory in the Blue Square UK Open final at Bolton’s Reebok Stadium on Sunday night.

Just 13 days after he was soundly beaten in the Premier League Darts final by Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, the Aldershot darts sensation roared back to form to beat America’s Gary Mawson and claim the third major title of his career.

Wade, nicknamed ‘The Machine’, lived up to his tag as he relentlessly kept pace with the US star before pulling away powerfully over the last few legs to claim the title and the £35,000 prize money.

It was the World No. 3’s third major title of a career that is going from strength to strength, after victory in both the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix tournaments last year.

Speaking after his win, Wade admitted he was delighted with his performance, having struggled in the same competition over the last few years.

“It’s a special title for me,” he said. “I’ve never done well at Bolton in previous years so it feels good.

“It’s my third big title and to be honest I’m lost for words. Gary let me off at times in the final and I made the most of it, but I was pretty consistent over the whole weekend.”

Wade certainly started the final as favourite against Mawson, but after the American had stunned the Reebok Stadium by knocking out two-time reigning champion Raymond van Barneveld in the semi-final earlier in the day, he was a big threat to The Machine’s hopes.

Indeed, it was Mawson who began the more confident of the two players, taking an early 3-1 lead as Wade made a slow start.
But a 98 checkout saw Wade hit back, and he also took the next three legs, including seven perfect darts in one leg and a 13-dart finish, to wrestle the initiative back from the underdog for a 5-4 lead.

Despite watching his lead evaporate Mawson was far from done and he regrouped well to move 6-5 ahead, courtesy of a brilliant 150-finish.

Behind again, Wade suddenly found an extra gear and he rattled off the next five legs to move into a commanding 10-6 lead, helped by a dazzling 100-checkout.

Mawson gave himself a stay of execution by taking the next leg, but he was simply prolonging the inevitable, and Wade nailed his favourite double-top to clinch the title and pick up another hefty pay-cheque.

Mawson was gracious in defeat, paying tribute to Wade despite knowing that he had his chances to pull away from the 25-year-old left-hander in the early stages of the final.

“I’ve had a fantastic weekend,” he said. “I wish I could have gone one game further but James was great in the final.”

Along the way Wade managed to avoid both Taylor and van Barneveld, after Barney disposed of The Power in the quarter-finals, only to lose to Mawson in the next round.

Wade too was full of praise for his opponent. He said: “He played great darts to beat Barneveld and deserved his first major final.

“Gary played the darts of his life and beat one of the best players in the world.

“He was great in the final too, he started well but I had too much for him at the end.”

It was certainly a key factor that whilst the big-hitters were beating each other, Wade coasted through to the final, defeating Alan Tabern 10-6 in the quarter-finals and dispatching of Vincent van der Voort 10-4 in the semi.

For once in a major tournament, Wade was the most experienced player when it came to the final, and when speaking to ‘www.planetdarts.tv’ he revealed that he put all that experience to good use against Mawson.

In particular he pointed to his Premier League loss against Talyor, less than two weeks before, claiming that he had learned much from tasting defeat in such a big tournament.

“Gary should have beaten me in the final, but for a change my experience and belief shone through, and I think that’s why I won,” Wade said.

“I honestly believe I would have lost that before the Premier League. I was probably just as good a player, but before the Premier League I would have lost without a doubt.

“It has made a massive difference and has been a big advantage for me.”

Wade has little time to celebrate his victory as the PDC tour moves on to Ashton Gate in Bristol for the Players’ Championship.

The next major tournament is across the pond in Las Vegas, as Wade looks to prove himself outside of England in the Sky Sports Desert Classic at the end of the month.

Like in Bolton, Wade has struggled in previous trips to the US, but said that he was looking to put in a good performance, and to challenge for the title.

“The UK Open is a tournament that doesn’t suit someone like me — I’m better at getting myself up for one game a day,” he said.

“But I handled that this year and came through it, so I’m over the moon.

“I’ve never done well in Las Vegas either, so maybe the Dersert Classic will be good for me this year.”

When he returns from America, Wade will head to familiar territory at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens as he looks to defend the Stan James World Matchplay title that he won last year.

That was his first victory in a major competition, and should he retain his title, The Machine will keep hot on the heels of Taylor and van Barneveld in the race to become the World No. 1.