Darts Jan 02, 2026

MItchell Lawrie: 'Next Luke Littler' and teenager described 'future of darts' wins JDC Junior World Championship title at Alexandra Palace

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
MItchell Lawrie: 'Next Luke Littler' and teenager described 'future of darts' wins JDC Junior World Championship title at Alexandra Palace

Teenage darts sensation Mitchell Lawrie continued an impressive start to his career by winning the JDC Junior World Championship final at the Alexandra Palace.

The 15-year-old, who reached the WDF World Darts Championship final earlier this month and has been described as the 'next Luke Littler', beat England's Kaya Baysal 5-2 in a high-quality contest.

Lawrie fired two ton-plus finishes and posted a 84.50 average during his victory, his second world title of 2025 after winning the WDF World Youth title, earning the Scot a £4,000 first prize.

"It's an amazing feeling," Lawrie said after his victory. "I've really put in the hours this year, and I'm over the moon to get the win. I'm buzzing. JDC World Champion - words can't describe it!"

Lawrie immediately took control by taking out a 120 finish for a 15-dart break before holding throw in the next, only for Baysal to respond by following a 12-darter by taking out a 56 checkout to level the match.

The Scot regained his lead with a brilliant 112 finish and held throw in the next to move a leg from victory, with Lawrie coming close to his third ton-plus checkout of the match before taking out D10 to secure more silverware.

"This was for my friend Harley, who passed away not long ago," Lawrie added. "I wore his sticker for the whole tournament and here at Ally Pally, so that was for him.

"I didn't play at my best game. I was so nervous it was unbelievable, but the two ton-plus checkouts really saved me."

Lawrie and Baysal came through the Junior World Championship's early rounds in Gibraltar during November's annual JDC Festival in the country, seeing them qualify for the showpiece final for players under 18.

Littler won back-to-back editions of the JDC Junior World Championship in 2022 and 2023 before finishing runner-up in the main tournament - on debut - a year later, while Jurjen van der Velde and Keane Barry are other PDC ProTour regulars to have won it.

Jimmy Van Schie described Lawrie as 'the future of darts' after beating him in the WDF World Darts Championship final, where he was bidding to become the youngest winner in history, while Littler has been impressed by the teenager's rapid progress and early success.

"Mitchell's doing his thing," Littler said after his first-round victory over Darius Labanauskas. "He's playing well, he's got a good family around him, and obviously I'm glad Target have got him on board.

"He's just got to keep at it - he's still so young. He'll be itching to turn 16 and go on the Development Tour. He's going to cause some damage.

"He's doing great things and one thing I liked was when he said he's Mitchell Lawrie, not Luke Littler."

Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live all the way through until Saturday January 3 on Your Site' dedicated darts channel. .

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