TEEN SENSATION WINS MAIDEN WDF TITLE AT 14!
03/09/2025 By Aaron Nijjar
MITCHELL LAWRIE clinched his first senior World Darts Federation title at just 14-years-old!
The incredible landmark was the same thing superstar Luke Littler and Kaya Baysal did at the same age.
Lawrie stormed through the early rounds but then edged past former WDF world champion Neil Duff 4–3 in the quarter-final of the Welsh Open.
Scottish sensation Lawrie sweeped past Cavan Phillips in the semis before crushing Darren Johnson 6-1 in the final to lift the trophy.
Lawrie admits he honed his craft during the covid era in Lockdown.
He said: “I started playing a lot during lockdown in a Monday night online league.
“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 practise 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.”
When asked about the glory and gold medals his dedication has already earned, he added: “I don’t actually know how many I have, there are too many to count now.
“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.”
Lawrie’s name is now etched alongside a rich list of darting legends like Eric Bristow, John Lowe, Gary Anderson, Andy Fordham, van Gerwen and Bunting.
Lawrie’s proud mum, Lynne, believes his incredible skills go back to the buggy.
She revealed: “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’.
“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.”
World No. 2 Littler – who only turned 18 in January – burst onto the scene by winning the 2021 Irish Open in Killarney.
But last year his incredible feat was topped when Burnley’s Baysal, who had only been playing seriously 18 months, lifted the 2025 Budapest Classic 13 days earlier than Littler had hit his target.
