Wade defeated Aspinall 11-8 to win a battle between two of the sport’s most stalwart competitors.
Wade led 4-0 but Aspinall, again fighting through pain from an injured arm, fought back to take an 8-7 lead.
But Wade finished even stronger, winning the final four legs without conceding a goal to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in five years.
“I was lucky tonight because Nathan didn’t play to his full potential,” said Wade, who is playing in his 19th consecutive World Match Play.
“But the most important thing is I’m happy I made it and I’m still in the tournament.
“I have nothing to prove, no one has won as many tournaments as me except Michael. [van Gerwen] fill [Taylor]”
Wade will now face Ross Smith in the quarter-finals, who broke new ground with a hard-fought 11-9 win over Gerwyn Price.
Both players started slowly but a fascinating match ensued with Price taking an 8-6 lead.
Smith then found his best form, winning five of the final six legs to reach his first World Matchplay quarter-final.
“It means a lot to me to make it to the quarterfinals,” Smith said. “I’ve been watching this tournament since I was a kid and I’ve worked really hard to get to this point.”
“In the first half of the match, we were both out of the race and I was just trying to motivate myself.
“I told myself to keep fighting and I kept fighting as hard as I could. It was tough against Gerwin and Josh. [Rock] That will be much more satisfying.”
Humphries, the world number one, continued his quest for a first World Matchplay title with an 11-7 victory over Stephen Bunting.
Humphries impressed with an average of 102.34 but had to bounce back from 6-5 down to beat a determined Bunting.
The world champion finished strongly, winning six of his final seven matches to reach the quarter-finals for the second consecutive year.
“It didn’t go my way,” said Humphries, who reached the semi-finals last year. “Stephen is a very competitive player and he put me under pressure in every match.”
“He’s a lovely guy and I can see why he has such a huge following. It was a great match of darts, it’s always like this when we play against each other.”
“I know I can win. I’ve won the biggest tournament in the world. It won’t be easy, but I’m ready to fight for this title.”
Humphries will avenge his loss to Jonny Clayton last year and will face van den Bergh in the quarter-finals.
Van den Bergh, the 2020 champion, hit a crucial 108 checkout to take an 8-5 lead against Clayton, who beat the Belgian at the same stage of last year’s tournament.
From there, van den Berg won his final three games to reach the quarter-finals for the fourth time in five years.
“I was exhausted,” Van den Bergh admitted. “I gave it my all and never gave up. I made some big shots under pressure. I didn’t expect to beat Jonny 11-5 in this format. He’s a great player.”
“It’s not about who’s in front of you, it’s about what you need to do to bring out the best in yourself.”
World Matchplay Darts 2024: Draw and tournament table
Round 2
- (1) Luke Humphreys 11-7 Stephen Bunting (16)
- (8) Jonny Clayton 5-11 Dimitri van den Bergh (9)
- (4) Gerwyn Price 9-11 Ross Smith (13)
- (5) Nathan Aspinall 8-11 James Wade
- (2) Michael van Gerwen vs Joe Cullen (15)
- Krzysztof Ratajski vs. Andrew Gilding
- (3) Michael Smith vs Chris Dobey (14)
- (6) Rob Cross vs. Ryan Searle
Round 1
- (1) Luke Humphreys 10-4 Ricardo Pietreczko
- (16) Stephen Bunting 12-10 Ryan Joyce
- (8) Jonny Clayton 10-7 Raymond van Barneveld
- (9) Dimitri van den Bergh 10-6 Martin Schindler
- (4) Gerwyn Price 10-4 Daryl Gurney
- (13) Ross Smith 10-4 Josh Lock
- (5) Nathan Aspinall 10-8 Luke Woodhouse
- (12) Danny Noppert 5-10 James Wade
- (2) Michael van Gerwen 10-6 Luke Littler
- (15) Joe Cullen vs. Brendan Dolan
- (7) Dave Chisnall 2-10 Krzysztof Ratajski
- (10) Peter Wright 5-10 Andrew Gilding
- (3) Michael Smith 10-5 Gary Anderson
- (14) Chris Doby 10-7 Richie Edhouse
- (6) Rob Cross 13-12 Jan van Veen
- (11) Damon Heta 4-10 Ryan Searle