The Scottish Luke Littler? 14-year-old wonderkid follows in footsteps of World Champion in winning WDF senior title

The WDF Welsh Open produced a remarkable winner last weekend in the shape of Mitchell Lawrie. The 14-year-old prodigy from Scotland took the tournament by storm, following in the footsteps of Kaya Baysal and Luke Littler, who both also captured senior WDF titles at the same age.

Lawrie’s route through the field was impressive. He overcame George Smith (4–1), John Doocey (4–0), Ben Watkins (4–2), Dylan Cowley (4–2), Callum Francis (4–3) and Luke Smith (4–2) to book his place in the quarter-finals. There, the young Scot edged past former WDF world champion Neil Duff 4–3, before brushing aside Cavan Phillips 5–1 to reach the final.

In the decider, Lawrie rose to the occasion, defeating veteran Darren Johnson 6–1 to claim the title. The Welsh Open boasts a glittering roll of honour, with the likes of Eric Bristow, John Lowe, Dennis Priestley, Richie Burnett, Ronnie Baxter, Gary Anderson, Andy Fordham, Michael van Gerwen, Mark Webster, Stephen Bunting, Martin Adams, Glen Durrant and, more recently, Luke Littler in 2022 all lifting the trophy.

It was a weekend to remember for Lawrie in more ways than one. He also dominated the boys’ competition, dropping just a single leg in wins over Jack Powell (3–0), Cori Wiltshire (3–0), Luke Oldham (3–0), Dylan Cowley (3–1) and Kaya Baysal (4–0).