“I want to go in there, I want to hold my own” – 15-year-old Mitchell Lawrie gears up for Q-School with a clear goal
PDC
Mitchell Lawrie is seen as one of the young darting talents to watch in the coming years. The Scot is only fifteen, yet he already has several notable results to his name. For now, though, patience is required. Lawrie is eagerly counting down to his sixteenth birthday, when he can take the next step in his darts career.
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In conversation with Oche180, Lawrie made no secret that the wait is getting tough. He wants to test himself against stronger opponents as soon as possible and hopes to take his chance at Q-School next year.
“It’s been a big pain,” Lawrie admitted. “I really just want to turn 16 and take your next step in darts, but, you know, you have to play it out. You’re on your own journey at the end of the day. I’ve stuck to the WDF and stuff, so hopefully next year I’ll go to Q School and see what happens.”
In the meantime, Lawrie is far from idle. The young Scot keeps collecting titles and has already produced a nine-darter. “Still doing really well. Just keeping in practice, really. Still doing all my advanced stuff, still doing all my WDF stuff. Now qualified for Lakeside, the men’s and youth, so to the end of the year it’s a bit more chilled. Not as many weekends away and stuff, but still playing darts, still playing competitive darts and just making sure I’m keeping my arm in.”
A brief break from darts
Between tournaments, Lawrie recently chose to step away from the oche for a moment. He skipped an event to go on holiday with friends and his father. It proved a welcome break, even if the trip wasn’t entirely smooth.
"Definitely worth it, except for my phone getting stolen," he laughed. "But except for that, no, it was definitely a great holiday. Out there with my pals and my dad, it was just a great holiday, probably one of the best ones I’ve been on. Just chillax for once, not worrying about darts, just out there having fun, being a boy.”
From next year, however, the focus returns fully to the sport. The main goal is clear: earn a Tour Card. If Q-School doesn’t work out immediately, Lawrie already has his alternative route mapped out.
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“Definitely a Development Tour, Challenge Tour, try and push myself on to the Pro Tour and stuff, the PDC circuit. I want to be a professional darts player at the end of the day. The WDF is great, but the next step is PDC. The WDF have been great with me and I love it there.”
A failed attempt at Q-School wouldn’t be a disaster for Lawrie. “I would not be disheartened. I definitely know if I don’t get my Tour Card, I’m definitely wanting to do Lakeside again, whether or not the opportunity comes around.”
Between Taylor and Lewis
Despite his young age, Lawrie regularly finds himself among big names in the darts world. Recently he ran into, among others, Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis. Even for someone making a name for himself, that still feels special.
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“When Phil Taylor walks in, it’s something that’s just... it’s mental. He’s just talking to you like a normal person. Funny, same with Adrian Lewis. Just looking at them like, “Why am I here? Why am I in the same room as you?” But, you know, hard work pays off at the end of the day and what can I say? It’s been a surreal experience here.”
Lewis was also one of the players Lawrie tried to imitate as a kid. “When I was growing up as a wee guy, I used to actually try and throw like Adrian Lewis when I was younger. I don’t know why, I just loved him. He’s got the best throw in the world, hasn’t he? So I tried to copy his when I was younger and then I just ended up finding out my own thing. But obviously Gary Anderson was my hero growing up. Watching those three was definitely a surreal experience."
Will Mitchell Lawrie become the next Scottish major winner after Gary Anderson and Peter Wright?
Anderson remains a special name for Lawrie. The two have met, and the young Scot describes his idol as “a great and genuine guy.”
A potential meeting on the PDC tour would be special, but Lawrie has no intention of conceding anything in advance. “I know I can hold my own against anybody in the world if I play well. It would be a very difficult game for sure, but anyone in that PDC circuit is. But especially a man like Gary Anderson, he’s a different class, isn’t he?”
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“I want to follow my own path”
If Lawrie does secure a Tour Card next year, he won’t burden himself with huge targets right away. He sees his first spell among the professionals mainly as an investment in his development.
“I’m really just going to enjoy it. I’ve got two years on the Pro Tour, I may as well make the most of it. 16 years of age at the end of the day. If I go and get my Tour Card, I’m going to play darts for 30-40 more years?”
That doesn’t mean, according to Lawrie, that he’ll accept losing. “The first two years are a learning experience, a learning curve, see how I do. I definitely want to do well. I’m not saying that I want to go in there and just be someone that people can run over and beat 6-0, 6-4 and 6-2. I want to go in there, I want to hold my own. But it’s not that big of a deal what happens the first two years for me. It’s all a learning curve and I’m still learning in this game. I’m still progressing and I just need to get used to that."
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Inevitably, the name Luke Littler comes up, who conquered the darts world at a very young age. Lawrie sees his contemporary mainly as an inspiration, but is determined not to be a copy of him.
“He’s a big inspiration to all. I’ve always said, if I could do half the stuff he’s done in his career, through my whole career, everybody would be happy. I think everybody in the world would be happy if they could do half the stuff he’s done.”
Even so, Lawrie is intent on his own course. “I don’t want to be him. I just want to be my own person and do my own path.”
Lucas MichaelDarts Journalist
Lucas Michael is a darts journalist and reporter based in Cambridge, UK, and has been part of the DartsNews team since 2025. He covers professional darts through reports, analysis, round-ups, and live coverage, with a focus on clear context and accurate reporting across the PDC calendar.
A key part of his work is liveblogging major tournaments throughout the year, providing real-time updates, match coverage, and contextual reporting across the professional circuit. He also reports regularly from events on site and has covered the PDC World Darts Championship from the venue, delivering first-hand insight throughout the tournament.
Within the newsroom, Lucas works closely with the editorial team and supports coverage alongside Chief Content Officer Samuel Gill and reporter Kieran Wood.
Lucas holds a BA (Hons) in Sports Journalism. In his work, he places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating content promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026
- Littler lost to crabtree in the youth/junior/whatever you call it. He had no point in being there. He's unfortunately now got to the stage,he feels all he has to do is get on the stage to win. Well,I hope he realises part of his fear factor has gone. Happened to Taylor,then van gerwen,and it's causing him to realise pretty sharp,he isn't unstoppable. It's good for the sport,not 1 single player in my 60 years has ever,or will ever be, unbeatable.rick6725-10-2026
- I think it's great to see Mark Webster looking good,good ladrick6725-10-2026