Wade made his debut in the Premier League as he was in the top four of the Order of Merit and on the opening night became the first player to defeat Taylor in the tournament's three-year history, winning the match 8 legs to 6. Taylor however exacted revenge with a 16–8 victory in the final on 26 May 2008 after Wade had defeated van Barneveld in the semi-finals. Incredibly, Wade claimed his third major title in a year at the UK Open, by beating American Gary Mawson 11–7 in the final. The following month, he reached the finals of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, losing 13–7 to Taylor. Then in July he reached his third World Matchplay final in a row, losing for the second time in three years in the final to Taylor 18–9, making this the third major final loss of the year against Taylor. In the defence of his World Grand Prix title he lost to Tony Eccles in the first round. He returned to form to claim two Players Championship titles in the autumn and also hit his first televised nine-darter in a second round loss to Gary Anderson at the Grand Slam of Darts.