Wade beats Klinge 8-5 to win Australian Masters and first World Series title

James Wade beat qualifier Brody Klinge 8-5 in the Australian Masters final in Wollongong, New South Wales, on 22 August 2026 to claim his first World Series of Darts title. The 43-year-old closed out the best-of-15 final after a late fightback from Klinge.

Wade is a 10-time PDC major winner whose last major title was the UK Open in 2021. This was his first World Series title, achieved in his third World Series final. The victory came 13 years after he made his debut in the competition in Dubai.

Wade surged to a 6-2 lead by winning four consecutive legs before Klinge recovered to 6-5; Wade moved to 7-5 and completed the win with a 60 finish. The world number six finished the final with an average of 101.62.

The 34-year-old Australian Klinge, the Australian Darts Association number one, became only the second qualifier ever to reach a World Series final. He opened the event with a 6-5 victory over European champion Ross Smith, then beat Dutchman Gian van Veen in the last eight and Wales' Jonny Clayton in the semi-finals; Clayton was the winner of last week's New Zealand Masters.

Wade reached the final after edging Stephen Bunting in a decider and defeating Gerwyn Price en route. "Perhaps I thought I would get a nice easy win, but I didn't," Wade told the packed Entertainment Centre.

After facing a vociferous home crowd, Wade produced the 60 finish amid boos, then turned to the crowd and pointed to his ears; he later said, "Obviously I had all the crowd support here tonight which made it all the sweeter," speaking directly to the crowd in jest. "Unfortunately my scores were louder than your cheers." Klinge reflected on the occasion, saying: "It's been absolutely amazing - the crowd has been behind me the whole time and I have really enjoyed the whole experience. I just cannot believe I am up here, honestly."

The Australian Masters was the sixth and final event of the World Series of Darts' regular season. The World Series Finals will be held from 17 to 20 September in Amsterdam.