14-year-old darts sensation wins senior title to match Luke Littler achievement

The next Luke Littler could be about to burst onto the scene after 14-year-old Mitchell Lawrie won his first senior title.

The Scottish sensation claimed top prize at the World Darts Federation Welsh Open last weekend.

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This is the same age Littler was when he won his first senior title at the 2021 Irish Open.

Incredibly, they aren’t the youngest players to do it either, with Kaya Baysal being younger in days when he won the Budapest Classic earlier this year.

Still, it is a magnificent achievement for Lawrie, who blasted past most of his opponents.

He had one really close game against former WDF champion Neil Duff, coming through 4-3.

The final was an absolute breeze as he thrashed Darren Johnson 6-1.

And afterwards, he spoke to STV and said: “I started playing a lot during lockdown in a Monday night online league, and that’s when I started playing a lot, maybe six or seven hours a day, because there wasn’t much else to do in lockdown.

“Then I stopped for a bit, but when we moved house, I started playing again, and that’s when I realised how good I was, and I started doing it competitively.

“I usually practice for around two to two and a half hours a day, and sometimes, it can be more but that is the routine that I stick to.”

Among his trophies is the European Youth Cup, which has been won by some of the game’s greatest players.

So, that is the one he’s most proud about winning.

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He said: “The standout one is the Europe Youth Cup singles trophy.

“People who have won that include Michael van Gerwen and Stephen Bunting when they were youth players.”

And his mother, Lynne, revealed just how long her son has been playing darts.

She said: “He was probably around two or three.

“My dad was big on darts, and I can remember my dad lifting him out of his pram and holding him up so he could play at the dart board.

“So we bought him his own dart board, then we thought ‘ok let’s get him a real dart board and see where it goes from there’.

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“He would just throw away at it, and keep throwing away, and throwing away.

“And then from there it was every year when the Scottish Open came.”

The next Littler?

It is far too early to know if Lawrie is going to be the next Littler.

However, what is clear is that he has a lot of talent, and he has been playing darts for a long time.

That time and effort is starting to pay off with a first senior victory, and to match a Littler achievement as well is some going.

Certainly, all eyes will be north of the border to see how Lawrie progresses, but it would be wise to not put the kid under too much pressure, given he is just 14.