Wade joins World Championship's nine-dart heroes

James Wade (Lawrence Lustig, PDC)

James Wade's nine-dart finish in the William Hill World Darts Championship on Tuesday was the tenth in the tournament's history and his third in a televised event.

The left-hander achieved perfection in the fourth set of his tie with Stephen Bunting at Alexandra Palace, although he went on to lose 4-2.

Wade has previously hit nine-darters in the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts and 2014 World Grand Prix, and became the first player since Gary Anderson, in the 2016 semi-finals, to land a perfect leg in the World Championship.

"It's a great achievement to hit the nine-darter but ultimately it's only one leg," said Wade. "It's a nice moment but obviously to go on and lose the match is a massive disappointment for me."

Wade is the eighth player to land a nine-darter in the World Championship, with Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis both having achieved the feat twice previously.

Van Gerwen also missed double 12 to achieve back-to-back nine-dart finishes during his historic clash against Wade in the 2013 semi-finals.

William Hill World Darts Championship
Nine-Dart Legs
2009 - Raymond van Barneveld v Jelle Klaasen (Quarter-Finals)
2010 - Raymond van Barneveld v Brendan Dolan (Second Round)
2011 - Adrian Lewis v Gary Anderson (Final)
2013 - Dean Winstanley v Vincent van der Voort (Second Round)
2013 - Michael van Gerwen v James Wade (Semi-Finals)
2014 - Terry Jenkins v Per Laursen (First Round)
2014 - Kyle Anderson v Ian White (First Round)
2015 - Adrian Lewis v Raymond van Barneveld (Third Round)
2016 - Gary Anderson v Jelle Klaasen (Semi-Finals)
2020 - James Wade v Stephen Bunting (Third Round)