The emphatic victory was the evening’s biggest shock and one of the most dominant displays of the tournament so far. Wade controlled the match from the outset and rarely allowed Van Gerwen to get into any rhythm.
In his current form, Wade could yet pose a genuine threat to tournament favourite Luke Littler.
Littler himself had earlier been forced to work hard for his progress. Against Kevin Doets, he averaged 93.68 -- almost four points below his opponent’s 97.22 -- and trailed in maximums by seven to four.
But the teenager found his rhythm when it mattered, pulling clear late on to secure a 10-5 victory.
He later followed that with another convincing display, defeating Scotland's Gary Anderson 10-5 to reach the next round.
There was disappointment for Luke Humphries, however, as one of the sport's leading names again fell short of expectations.
'Cool Hand Luke' was beaten 10-6 by the Netherlands' Danny Noppert, continuing an inconsistent run of form.
Welsh star Gerwyn Price endured a nervy route through the draw. He edged past Ryan Joyce 10-7 in the last 16 before squeezing through a deciding-leg contest against Keane Barry, winning 10-9.
Elsewhere, Krzysztof Ratajski confirmed his improving form with a 10-5 win over Ryan Searle, the recent surprise world championship semi-finalist.
Four German players had reached the last 32, but none progressed further. Martin Schindler pushed Anderson before losing 10-7, while Gabriel Clemens was heavily beaten 10-2 by Wade.
Dominik Grullich went down 10-7 to Josh Rock, and Kai Gotthardt exited after a 10-6 defeat to Van Gerwen earlier in the day.
