‘The Machine’ became the seventh different winner of a Premier League night, defeating Joe Cullen in a deciding leg to clinch glory in front of 12,000 fans at the AO Arena – a record crowd for the tournament in the UK.
James Wade has ended his wait by winning a Premier League event in 2022 by defeating Joe Cullen in the final on Week 10 in Manchester.
The left-hander reached the final on week three, eight and nine, only to lose out, but it was a different story on Thursday night as he got the better of Cullen in a last-leg decider.
Despite hitting just one maximum, Wade averaged a superb 105.48, missing just three attempts at double to ensure that he strengthened his place in the top four of the standings.
He impressively saw off Gary Anderson and Gerwyn Price on his way to the final where he defeated Joe Cullen in a deciding leg shoot-out to get over the winning line.
Earlier in the night, Wade beat Gary Anderson and Gerwyn Price by 6-2 scorelines, results which have allowed Cullen to build a margin over the bottom three.
Cullen’s previous wins had come against Michael Smith and Jonny Clayton, the Bradford thrower featuring in his third final and finishing as runner-up for the second time.
League leader Michael van Gerwen went out at the quarter-final stage, losing out 6-5 to Clayton despite averaging in excess of 105.
The 2022 Cazoo Premier League Darts is an ongoing darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation – the eighteenth edition of the tournament. The event began on Thursday, 3 February 2022, at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff and is scheduled to end with the play-offs at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin on Monday, 13 June 2022.
Jonny Clayton is the reigning champion. Jonny Clayton is the reigning champion after defeating Jose de Sousa 11–5 in the 2021 final, Jonny Clayton is the reigning champion.
On Night 3, Gerwyn Price hit nine-dart finishes in consecutive matches (in his semi-final against Michael van Gerwen and the final against James Wade), making him the second person in Premier League history to hit two nine-darters on the same night, after Phil Taylor, who did both of his in the 2010 Premier League Darts final against Wade.
This tournament also saw the beginning of the PDC’s new partnership with Winmau as their dartboard supplier.
