JAMES WADE has been labelled as “disrespectful” after refusing to stay on stage in the aftermath of his World Matchplay final defeat to Luke Littler.
The World No.5 lost 18-13 to the teen sensation who became the youngest champion in the tournament’s history.
‘The Machine’ slipped away quietly off the oche following their bout as Littler soaked up the spotlight solo.
Sky Sports pundits Michael Bridge and Chris Murphy took aim at Wade for his actions in Blackpool.
Bridge said: “I got it clarified that there were no issues with Luke or the crowd or anything like that.
“He was just angry at himself, which is fine, but we would have liked to have heard from him.”
Murphy added: “I thought it was disrespectful for him not to be on the stage at the end.
“Whether he does an interview or not is up to him, but not to be there when Luke is receiving the trophy, that is disrespectful.
“Just stand there for a minute and applaud, and then say, ‘I don’t want to talk.’
“There’s a serious side with James of course.
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“We know about his mental health and his mental illnesses that he suffers with and that he’s trying to combat all the time.
“But I think he maybe needs a little bit of guidance and support with that.
“If he’s not up to doing a press conference straight after a match, maybe he should be approaching the PDC and asking about facilitating his press conference when he returns for the next round in a better frame of mind.”
