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There's little affection between Gary Anderson and James Wade as they gear up for their World Masters showdown. Two of darts' most decorated players will face off in the second round at Milton Keynes on Saturday afternoon.

Anderson has won the World Championship twice, while Wade - an 11-time major winner - is considered the finest player yet to lift the sport's most coveted trophy. The duo have clashed during their careers and haven't always been on friendly terms, with Wade even acknowledging this publicly.

Following a Premier League encounter in Aberdeen back in 2015, the Flying Scotsman criticised Wade, who had grumbled about the home crowd after being held to a 6-6 draw, having led 6-2. Wade said: "It really should have been two points but it wasn't and I was playing the crowd as well."

Anderson, however, mounted a robust defence of the Scottish supporters, highlighting the treatment he endured at other venues. He said: "We only play twice in Scotland and I have to play away from home 14 times in a season. The rest moan but it does annoy me.

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"Dublin and Wales are great and Belfast is all right but the rest of the time, that is what I get. They moan about it but they just have to accept it. I get it every week, so they need to man up and deal with it. If they have a problem come and see me as I don't have a problem with it."

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Nearly a decade later, the two found themselves in agreement on one particular issue - what they saw as a lack of recognition for Luke Humphries compared to Luke Littler.

Towards the end of 2024, while Humphries still held the world title, Anderson expressed his frustration, fuming: "The boy gets looked over every time, which I think is a load of b******s. He's deserved everything that he's worked for, everything he's got and talk to the other players [they feel the same]. Rubbish, absolute rubbish."

Wade backed Anderson's comments, despite admitting the two "don't get on very well." At that year's World Grand Prix, the Machine said: "I would like to say me and Gary Anderson don't get on very well, at times.

"But what I will say is, I believe Luke Humphries is probably the second or third-best world champion we have ever had. We have had [lots of] world champions. Luke Humphries has won almost everything after the World Championship and before it.

"I feel really sorry for Luke Humphries. I don't need to do this. I could have finished the conversation 30 seconds ago and walked out of the door. You're not going to get someone as great as him for a long time. I think we need to celebrate it. The things he's doing are magnificent.

"I'm not going to rant on as much as Gary did, but the things he's done and the things he's won. Tell me another world champion that's won as much as he's done afterwards. It's quite sad for darts."

In Saturday's other action, Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price collide in an all-Welsh affair. World Championship runner-up Gian van Veen plays Nathan Aspinall for a place in the quarter-finals, while 2023 Masters champion Chris Dobey meets Australian number one Damon Heta.

Littler and Humphries will take centre stage on Saturday evening when they face Ross Smith and Luke Woodhouse respectively, with Rob Cross and Josh Rock also set to collide. Elsewhere, Stephen Bunting and Danny Noppert lock horns in a repeat of last year's quarter-finals.