2012
Wade dropped just one set to reach the quarter-finals of the 2012 World Championship, but was then involved in two of the best games ever witnessed at the event. He played John Part in the last 8 and raced into a 3–1 lead before the Canadian won three sets in a row. Wade took the game into a deciding set and the players broke each other's throws twice to require a sudden-death leg, which he managed to win by taking out 85 with Part on 40. He played defending champion Adrian Lewis in the semi-finals and looked to be heading for his first PDC World final as he led 5–1. Lewis pulled a set back, before Wade had a dart at double 18 to win the match. He missed and it proved to be a pivotal moment as Lewis took the set and reeled off 10 straight legs to complete a sensational comeback 5–6. Despite the loss, Wade moved up to third in the PDC Order of Merit overtaking Gary Anderson.
Wade once again gained automatic entry for the Premier League due to his Order of Merit ranking. He lost his first three matches, before winning the next three and went into the final game of the season knowing a win over Raymond van Barneveld would guarantee him a spot in the play-offs. Wade drew the match 7–7, but due to other results going his way he still qualified for the play-offs by finishing 4th in the league. He played Phil Taylor in the semi-finals, against whom he suffered heavy 2–8 and 1–8 defeats during the league campaign. The semi-final, however, was much closer as Wade led 4–2 in the opening stages, before the score became 6–6. Taylor then took out a 149 finish, with Wade on 57, to break and then closed out the match 8–6.
Wade beat Richie Burnett, Mark Walsh, Michael van Gerwen and Terry Jenkins to reach his fifth World Matchplay final and his fourth against Phil Taylor. Wade trailed 10–14, but hit back to 14–15 and then missed a dart at double 10 to level the game. He went on to lose 15–18, stating after the match that winning 15 legs against Taylor whilst playing "half-mast" was a good achievement and that he had never felt so happy playing darts. However, during his first round defeat to Colin Osborne in the World Grand Prix, Wade appeared visibly unsettled and immediately flew back home to receive treatment with regard to bipolar disorder, which he was diagnosed with in 2010. He released a statement to thank fans for their support and did not play again until the Grand Slam of Darts, where he finished third in his group following one win and two defeats. After all 33 ProTour events of 2012 had been played, Wade finished 12th on the Order of Merit to qualify for the Players Championship Finals. He lost to Brendan Dolan 4–6 in the first round.
Read more about this topic: James Wade