Even younger than Luke Littler: 14-year-old Jayden Walker makes WDF history with record-breaking senior title win
WDF
Jayden Walker has become the youngest-ever winner of a senior WDF ranking title, beating Aaron Turner 5–2 in the England International Open final having only turned 14 in August. The teenager averaged 93.81 to secure his first senior WDF crown in Selsey, taking a record previously held by Kaya Baysal and, before him, Luke Littler.
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Walker hit three 180s in Sunday’s final at Seal Bay Resort, opening with a 136 checkout and finishing with a 13-darter. Turner twice reduced the deficit, including a 91 checkout after Walker had fired in back-to-back maximums, but an 80 finish put the youngster 4–2 ahead before he sealed the title.
YOUNGEST-EVER OPEN WDF WINNER! Jayden Walker made history last night, winning the England International Open to become the youngest-ever WDF senior event winner - a record previously held by the likes of Luke Littler and Kaya Baysal! https://t.co/a6IFHvDu0I
— WDF Darts (@DartsWDF) October 12, 2026
A 101.90 average on the way to the title
His highest average came a round earlier, when he swept aside Jack Nankervis 4–0 with 101.90. That followed victories over former PDC Tour Card holder Ron Meulenkamp and Archie Self, with Walker conceding only six legs across seven matches.
| Round | Opponent | Result | Walker’s average |
| Last 128 | Jim Withers | 4–0 | 87.13 |
| Last 64 | Christopher Holt | 4–2 | 82.04 |
| Last 32 | Ron Meulenkamp | 4–1 | 86.96 |
| Last 16 | Nigel Prior | 4–0 | 92.49 |
| Quarter-final | Archie Self | 4–1 | 86.89 |
| Semi-final | Jack Nankervis | 4–0 | 101.90 |
| Final | Aaron Turner | 5–2 | 93.81 |
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Younger than Baysal and Littler
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Baysal established the previous benchmark at the 2025 Budapest Classic, winning at 14 years and 284 days. He was 13 days younger than Littler had been when claiming the 2021 Irish Open. Walker’s victory comes several months earlier in his teenage career than either of those breakthroughs.
| Player | Senior WDF title | Age when winning | |
| Jayden Walker | England International Open 2026 | 14 years (turned 14 in August) | |
| Kaya Baysal | Budapest Classic 2025 | 14 years, 284 days | |
| Luke Littler | Irish Open 2021 | 14 years, 297 days |
The Christchurch youngster had already caught the attention of both Littler and Luke Humphries. After losing an exhibition match to Walker in 2024, Humphries previously he was “the best 12-year-old [player] I’ve ever seen in my life”, while Littler posted: “This kid is gonna be special.”
Now part of Target’s Elite 1 programme, Walker arrived in Selsey having earned an England men’s team place through September’s International Trial in Bridlington. He beat Nankervis in that final too, securing national selection less than a month before adding this record-breaking ranking title.
Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Joking aside, it is the second most watched sport on sky (more than golf, F1 etc) behind football only, and in participation is second to only football and swimming. It doesn't get the attention or sponsorship of "bigger" sports because it's not as sexy, but it's right up there.BandB13-10-2026
- i love darts but you can't seriously believe it's the second most popular sport in the uk. even top five is pushing it. it may be the fastest growing, though.colt13-10-2026
- I'm a big Clayton fan, but he's got this completely wrong. Qualification criteria exists for a reason - so just as failing to make the top 32/64 for the Euro championships/PT Finals means you miss out, so does not lifting a title for this one.26sForFun12-10-2026
- The players who deliberately slow the game down are usually boring and win very little in the way of silverware. Horrible to watch.MrYnyslas197112-10-2026
- [“The Gentle” then used a sweeping and questionable phrase...] You anglocucks are hilariously finished in every sense of the word.Critical99911-10-2026
- I love Jonny but I disagree. The Grand Slam was always supposed to be "champion of champions" type competition. If the top 16 are guaranteed participation in everything there will be so much less jeopardy involved in qualifying and each major tournament will lose its unique flavour which the PDC has worked hard trying to develop. I enjoy following the qualification races towards the end of the year, and while consistency should have its rewards, the truth is Jonny hasn't reached a major final all year or won a single event on the Pro Tour. Being consistent is one thing, but that alone should have consequences as the sport's elite should not be prepared to accept consistently strong performances, their foremost motivation should be to win and this should be what separates them from the rest, not the consistency of their performances. Jonny is expecting that losing should be enough; it shouldn't be, at least not as far as the Grand Slam is concerned.Deduce635811-10-2026
- Well being honest,it doesn't matter what level you play at, there's always someone who slows it down to suit themselves,and extra swig of water, replacing flights, asking the ref what the score is. It happens wherever. I'm not saying it's professional,but I'm sure we've all seen it beforerick6711-10-2026
- Agree completely. Not sure how a ranking event can have a criteria not based on rankings. And he right on popularity. In the UK second only to football.BandB11-10-2026
- Doesn't matter who's in it,it's boringrick6710-10-2026
- Assuming you qualify as one of the "muppets" in question. Classist too. And since you're so clearly interested in academia, look up "linguistic descriptivism" while you're at it. Oh, and better stay away from the working class sport of darts and maybe offer your insightful analysis to, let's say, croquet instead?Deduce635806-10-2026
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