LAWRIE HEARTBREAK AS TITLE DOUBLE DREAM ENDS

By Phil Lanning

MITCHELL LAWRIE said he was “TERRIBLE” after his world title double dream ended in heartbreak.

The 15-year-old lost 6-3 to Jimmy van Schie having led 3-0 at Lakeside on Sunday afternoon.

The Renfrew kid was aiming for history as the youngest-ever world darts champion, having won the Youth title just three hours earlier, beating Florian Pleis.

But he has no answer to the Dutchman once he found his scoring power.

Lawrie still took home £19,000 in prize money in total for the two finals and said: “Rubbish. I went three sets up and just couldn’t hit a thing. It was terrible to be honest.

“Getting here in the first place was a lot but not happy. It is what it is.

“He hit everything. It’s a great achievement getting here. Wasn’t good enough at the end.

“A lot of positives doing it on the big stage. I’ve played really well. I just wasn’t good enough and came up short.”

Van Schie, who missed double 18 for a nine-darter, was the favourite coming into the tournament and hit the after-burners after the slow start.

He praised Lawrie: “He’s such a phenomenal player. Power scorer, shows maturity for his age. The sky’s the limit for him. It was a tough battle to play against.

“At 3-0 down I had to keep fighting and keep believing in myself. He is the future of darts.

“This means so much, this was my goal. First I wanted to win the World Masters, I happily did that. The next goal was to win this. Oh my God I’m so happy. I’ve got no words.”

Earlier Lawrie beat Pleis 4-2 to win the Youth title and then admitted he wanted his favourite CHINESE meal.

‘Wee Sox’ said: “It means everything, everything I’ve worked hard for. I think I was trying too hard for a few sets. I let it get to me and I shouldn’t have. It was silly.

“I kind of gave it easy to Florian for a few sets and then I started to play my game again. I eventually won it thankfully.

“Every time I was hitting a bad score, Florian was coming. It was a very tough game and I’m just happy I came out the other side of it.

“What do I want to say to my family: Mum can you buy me another Chinese?”

It looked like another walk in the park for Lawrie at 2-0 up in sets.

But the German nicked a set before the Scot restored his cushion at 3-1.

However Lawrie seemed to wobble and Pleis again closed the gap. But ‘Wee Sox’ had another gear to wrap it up at 4-2.

Pleis said: “What should I do, Mitch is a great player. I can’t do anything against him. I didn’t play my game so. He’s a great guy. It’s disappointing to lose.”

Image by Tip Top Pics