“It’s only right” - WDF expands Lakeside World Championship pathway after major youth darts boom

The WDF will give more of darts’ leading young talents a place on the Lakeside stage in 2026, with its youth world championship events expanded to a record combined field of 18 players.

The Open Youth World Championship will grow from eight players to 12, while the Girls World Championship will now feature six players. Both events will be held later this year as part of the 2026 WDF World Championships at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green.

The expansion follows a sharp rise in youth activity across the WDF circuit. In 2025, the number of youth tournaments on the calendar increased by 30 per cent compared with 2024, while player numbers in those events rose by 50 per cent year on year.

For the WDF, that growth has now led to a bigger world championship pathway. Reigning champions will also receive automatic places in the following year’s tournament, bringing the youth qualification model closer to the senior Open and Women’s events.

Mitchell Lawrie is already guaranteed a return to Lakeside after winning the 2025 WDF Open Youth World Championship. The Scot is also being used by the WDF as an example of the level now coming through the youth system, with Lawrie currently listed as both WDF Youth and Open World No.1.

The remaining Open Youth places will be decided through the 2026 WDF Open Youth World Master, the WDF World Championship 2026 Open Youth Race Table and the Open Youth play-off tournaments. The six highest-ranked eligible players from the Race Table will qualify, along with four play-off qualifiers, while any remaining invitations will also be filled through the Race Table.

In the Girls World Championship, reigning champion Zehra Gemi receives an automatic place. She will be joined by the 2026 WDF Girls World Master, the two highest-ranked eligible players from the Girls Race Table and two players from the Girls play-off tournaments. Any further places needed to complete the six-player field will again come from the final Race Table standings.

WDF president Buddy Bartoletta said the change reflects the organisation’s commitment to giving younger players a clearer route onto its biggest stage. “Developing the next generation of darting talent is an integral part of the WDF’s mission statement, so I’m delighted that we’re once again able to expand the WDF Youth World Championships,” said Bartoletta.

This is the second expansion of the youth events since the WDF took over the running of the tournament in 2022. The governing body says the number of Youth and Girls players qualifying for Lakeside is now up 200 per cent compared with those first WDF-run editions, won by Bradly Roes and Eleanor Cairns.

The increase gives the WDF a stronger youth presence at Lakeside at a time when teenage players are gaining more tournament opportunities across the circuit.

Bartoletta pointed to Lawrie’s rise as the clearest sign of that upward trend, saying the standard and participation levels in the youth game continue to move in the right direction. “As the standard of, and participation in, the Youth game continues to rise, evidenced best by the exploits of our current WDF Youth and Open World No.1 Mitchell Lawrie, it’s only right that we provide greater opportunities for those players to star on our biggest stage,” he said.

The expansion also changes the shape of the qualification race itself. With 12 Open Youth places and six Girls places now available, the Race Tables and play-offs carry greater weight across the rest of the WDF season.

For Lawrie and Gemi, the route back is already secured. For the rest of the field, Lakeside is now a bigger target, but also a more crowded one, as the WDF’s youth circuit continues to grow around the next wave of players trying to force their way onto the world stage.