"Achieving more than Luke Littler did at his stage of his career": These four very young darts talents are knocking loudly on the door

Luke Littler’s meteoric breakthrough has changed the world of darts forever. Ever since the young Englishman rapidly established himself among the absolute world elite, the question is quickly asked of every major young talent: who could be the ‘next Littler’? Former professional darts player and analyst Matt Edgar keeps a close eye on the new generation and has highlighted four names who, in his view, could provide plenty of excitement in the years to come.

As a commentator and player, Edgar regularly comes into contact with talents from different circuits and has seen that young players are reaching an exceptionally high level at an increasingly early age. On his YouTube channel Edgar TV Darts, he singled out four players who he believes currently stand out above the rest: Jack Johnson, Archie Self, Mitchell Lawrie and Kaya Baysal.

"There's a lot of young talent out there at the moment. I know people say, could he be the next Luke Littler? Luke Littler was someone we documented on this channel as he was coming through the rankings. Maybe we've got some more," he said on his channel.

"I know there's probably going to be loads of people out there that say you've missed this player off, you've missed that player off. I can't name them all. I've picked out four."

The youngest name on Edgar’s list is Jack Johnson. The Englishman is only 14 years old, but according to Edgar, he already has numbers that could eventually allow him to compete at a much higher level.

Johnson is averaging 82.90 this year. Edgar is particularly struck by what lies behind that figure. According to Edgar, that level represents an important benchmark for players who ultimately want to make the step up to, for example, Q-School, the Challenge Tour or MODUS.

"This young man is only 14 years old, and the reason I'm picking him out is because, one, he's running average for the year, 82.90, which means he's just fractionally under that six-dart visit per leg on average, which is exactly where you need to be if you want to be competitive on any system. If you can get out in six visits, you've got a chance at Q School, you've got a chance on the Challenge Tour, you've got a chance on MODUS. Whatever it is, you've got a genuine opportunity to be able to pick up titles, and that's what he's been doing with the JDC."

Johnson has already shown at the JDC that he can win matches, but Edgar is particularly impressed by his performances against stronger and more experienced opponents. As an example, he mentions a match against Jack Drayton, who has already enjoyed success in the MODUS Super Series. Johnson defeated him during an ADC Championship in Bradmore with an average of 97.

"The thing that stands out the most for me is when Jack Johnson plays against established players, he takes it up. We've seen him play on stages with the PDC. He steps it up, not scared of the big stage, not scared of the moment, certainly not scared of the players.

"His average goes up when he plays those better players. Most notably recently, he played against Jack Drayton, a winner of the Super Series. Not just a winner of a week at the Super Series, but a winner of a series at the Super Series, and he beat him with an average of 97 in an ADC Championship down at Bradmore. So, lots of really impressive things. All I'm hearing is positivity about this young man, one to keep your eye on for sure."

Archie Self has also firmly put himself on Edgar’s radar. The 16-year-old Englishman was tipped to him several years ago by Connor Scutt.

That prediction increasingly appears to be coming true. Self currently has a season average of 86.07, while his average over the first nine darts stands at 95. He has also now won his first Challenge Tour title.

That wasn’t all. Self also won an ADC Tour Championship and a week at the MODUS Super Series. During Champions Week, he then made a big impression on Edgar, who was there as a commentator. "Connor Scutt pointed him out to me and said, watch out for this lad. This lad's got it. I'm looking at his numbers at the moment. 86.07 the average, 95 on that front nine. Very impressive.

"As we mentioned, six visits. If you're six visits, you've got a chance, and Archie Self is living proof of that."

According to Edgar, his potential is further underlined by a personal record average of no less than 111.33. It is not only his level, but also his demeanour that appeals to Edgar. Edgar stresses that Self does not come across as arrogant.

"He was playing that well with a level of consistency and a level of quality. That level of quality has been backed by a career-high average at 16 years old of 111.33. Very laid back in his demeanour, but cheeky. Cheeky chappy, just like Luke Littler was.

"Cheeky chappy. He goes for different routes. He's confident in his ability to just deliver on that dartboard. Cheeky quality. Not personally cheeky on the dartboard, exactly where you need to be. Not arrogant."

The most obvious name on the list, according to Edgar, is Mitchell Lawrie. The young Scot now has an average above 90 and his scoring power is even beginning to approach the level of the better PDC professionals.

His average over the first nine darts is 100.78. Edgar calls this a particularly important statistic. Lawrie is also top of the WDF ranking and has already played in a senior World Championship final at Lakeside. On the same day, he first won the boys’ world title before losing the main tournament final to Jimmy van Schie. In addition, Lawrie won both the World Masters and the World Open a year earlier. This is one where you could really spend some time on. Already averaging over 90. Already producing numbers that are up towards Pro Tour level. Especially that front nine. Front nine average is scoring power.

"Remember the front nine is the most true reflection of your scoring. Unless you're on a nine-darter, that's your scoring power. 100.78 the average. When we look at that and compare it, it's very close to a top 32 level of scoring power. If you've got that scoring power of a player within the top 32, you're going to be able to make it on the Tour. Absolutely. He's the WDF number one. Already the world number one in the WDF system. This is a system littered with quality players. There's some real good quality in the WDF this year. World Championship runner-up. He's already played a World Championship final at Lakeside."

Edgar then makes a striking comparison with Littler. "He's just a winning machine. I can't even sit here and go through the amount of titles he's had, but since he first picked up his first title in Wales, he's been dominant on both the men's and the youth system. Mitchell Lawrie, at this stage of his career, is achieving more than Luke Littler did at his stage of his career.

He is emphatically not predicting that Lawrie will ultimately become better. "Now that doesn't mean that he's going to go on to be better than Luke or replicate what Luke's done. What it means is, at this stage of their careers, he is playing better, he is winning more. So it's promising signs that we've got another major star potentially on the horizon to follow in the footsteps and that amazing path that's been laid out by Luke.

The fourth name is Kaya Baysal. Edgar even delayed his video for a while because he first wanted to see the 16-year-old in person during a tournament in Croatia. 'I wanted to see how he was doing. He got all the boxes. Being a quality youth player is one thing, having ability is one thing.

'You need attributes, you need confidence, you need the right support network. He had the lot. Seasonal average at the moment, around 85, I think that's going to go up. 94 on the front nine. He's played his Super Series debut. He won Group C. He made the final overall, only missed out on winning that week by one match.

His first appearance on the Development Tour also impressed. 'I actually had him down to win that, so that was impressive. He's played on the Development Tour for the very first time. Now he's of age, now 16 years old.

'He reached a Development Tour final on his debut, rocking up the rankings straight away. He's going to be someone who's got a lot of time on the Development Tour. He's high in the WDF, currently seeded for Lakeside, playing well."

In Croatia, Baysal then underlined his form by winning seven of the eight tournaments he entered. These included three senior titles and four youth titles. The absolute highlight came in the final of the PSK Masters, where he produced an average of 113.86.

According to Edgar, players such as Baysal and Lawrie simultaneously prove that there is currently a great deal of quality within the WDF circuit. Alongside talents such as Ben Townley and James Beeton, he sees a generation emerging that could produce many new names at the top of the darts world over the coming years. "There's an endless list of them. There's lots of data out there with ADC, JDC, there's more young players breaking in. I'm seeing players as young as 12 years old now starting to pop in some amazing averages and stats."

Johnson, Self, Lawrie and Baysal are therefore, according to Edgar, just four examples from an exceptionally talented generation. Whether one of them can actually follow Littler’s extraordinary path remains to be seen. But for Edgar, there is no doubt that the next generation is already making its presence felt.