Play silly games, win silly prizes.
Unfortunately for darts star James Wade, he learned the hard way why you don’t walk behind an unsuspecting cheerleader.
The incident occurred as Wade made his way to the oche ahead of his first round match against Peter Hudson at the 2013 World Darts Championship.
Prior to the tournament, ‘The Machine’ was a semi-finalist in the Premier League play-offs and reached the final of the World Matchplay in July.
In short, Wade was a heavy favourite to enjoy a deep run at the Alexandra Palace.
But when he walked up the stairs, Wade’s cheekiness almost became his undoing.
As he ventured on stage, Wade thought he’d enjoy a spot of dancing to get in the spirit of the rowdy atmosphere that has become synonymous with the World Championship.
Wade attempted and failed to match the same moves of the cheerleaders on stage as he moved behind them.
But when he shuffled behind the second cheerleader, disaster struck.
As the cheerleader moved her left hand backwards, she inadvertently struck Wade’s nether region.
Wade immediately reacted and reached for his groin while the cheerleader appeared to grimace at what had just transpired.
‘The Machine’ continued the pleasantries as he shook the hands of the officials and Hudson.
TheChannelDarts – YouTubeWade was having a whale of a time dancing on stage…[/caption]
TheChannelDarts – YouTubeUntil he wasn’t, having been smacked in the crown jewels[/caption]
However, he seemed to return his attention back to the cheerleader and pointed to her and his groin a number of times, as if to let her know what had transpired.
Luckily for Wade, the bizarre pre-match incident did not prove to be a match-deciding distraction.
The 42-year-old, who was seeded third at the tournament, breezed past Hudson 3-0 to book a second round clash against darts legend Steve Beaton.
Wade overcame ‘The Bronzed Adonis’ 4-2 and cruised to a 4-0 mauling of Vincent van der Voort in the third round.
However, Wade wouldn’t have things his own way in the quarter-finals against Wesley Newton in the quarter-final.
Despite an average of 92.89 to Newton’s 97.15, Wade squeezed past his rival 5-4 to progress to the final four.
Unfortunately for Wade, his 2013 World Championship run came to a halt at the hands of Michael van Gerwen in the semis.
Van Gerwen’s win ensured he reached his first World Championship final but the Dutchman fell short to Phil Taylor, as ‘The Power’ won 7-4.
As for Wade, the semi-finals of darts’ marquee event remains the deepest he has gone at the tournament, with his last semi-final berth coming in 2022.
At least he now knows not to walk behind cheerleaders on stage.
