"An unreal experience and one that will stick with me forever" – 15-year-old Mitchell Lawrie lives a boyhood dream and takes a lap of honor with the JDC trophy at favorite football club Rangers FC

Mitchell Lawrie made a name for himself last December at just 15 years old at the WDF World Championship and the JDC World Championship. The youngster first reached the final among the men at the WDF, before claiming the title at the JDC Worlds in Alexandra Palace a few days later.

Lawrie impressed at the WDF Worlds by reaching the final in the men’s category, having already won the title in the boys’ event. Although his talent was well known, few expected him to reach the final straight away. He defeated Tomoya Maruyama, Jason Brandon, and Jeff Springer all 3-0 to reach the quarterfinals. He particularly stood out against Brandon with an average well over 97.

In the quarterfinals he then faced Belgian Francois Schweyen, whom he also beat 4-0. That meant he had not dropped a set up to the semifinals. That changed in the semis, as 19-year-old Jenson Walker offered a bit more resistance. Still, Lawrie was the better player and sealed a 5-2 win to reach the final, making a sensational upset look on the cards.

In the final, however, he ultimately had to concede to the then WDF world number one: Dutchman Jimmy van Schie. Van Schie had been the pre-tournament favorite for the title and beat Lawrie 6-3 in the final. That was no disgrace for the 15-year-old, especially given that Van Schie would go on to win his Tour Card in January and recently appeared at the PDC Winmau World Masters.

Just a week and a half later, the 15-year-old played the JDC World Championship. On the big stage at Alexandra Palace, he proved too strong for Kaya Baysal in the final, winning 5-2. In total, he finished with a tournament average of 92.24 across seven matches. Now, just over a month and a half later, the youngster saw another dream come true. He was allowed to parade his JDC trophy around the pitch of his favorite football club, Rangers FC, in Scotland.

On his official Instagram page, the youngster shared how proud he was of the moment. "What a night to go on to the pitch at Ibrox, a surreal feeling the club I’ve loved since a young lad to go out on that pitch was an unreal experience and one that will stick with me forever @rangersfc, the club I love so much have supported me unbelievably and tonight was an fantastic night thank you so much to everyone at Rangers Football Club that helped me out tonight he wrote."

Lawrie was also back in action recently at the JDC Masters. He again made the final there, but this time had to accept defeat to Kaya Baysal, who proved too strong for the young Scot with a 2-0 victory. We will undoubtedly be hearing much more from this 15-year-old sensation in the coming year.