Who is Mitchell Lawrie? 7 things you need to know about Scottish darts sensation as Littler admits ‘this kid is a joke’

Lawrie is making a splash at the WDF World Championship and appears to be one of the game’s next rising stars

Rising darts star Mitchell Lawrie(Image: Tony Nicoletti/Daily Record))

Luke Littler is still only 18 but the world of darts reckons they’ve found his heir-apparent already in rising Scottish star Mitchell Lawrie.

The 15-year-old has taken the WDF World Championships by storm at Lakeside and eclipsed Littler as the youngest ever to pick up a win at the historic tournament. And he’s not stopped there, charging onto the semi-finals where he stands every chance of going all the way.

Darts fans expecting to see him at the PDC majors sometime soon should perhaps slow their roll – he’s in his early teens and Littler-esque rises to global superstardom aren’t for everyone. But he’s certainly making the headlines for the right reasons and we’ve taken a look at what’s going on.

• Who is Mitchell Lawrie? Born in 2010, Lawrie first made national headlines when he beat Japan’s Tomoya Maruyama and became the youngest player to ever win at the World Championships at Lakeside. The youngest before him was a certain Luke Littler, who set the record in 2022 when he made it through to the last-32 aged 15.
• Where is he playing? The Lakeside Championships, held in Surrey, are organised WDF – which now serves as the secondary and de facto developmental body in darts. Many top stars now cut their teeth on the WDF circuit before making the jump over to the PDC, a move which may now be in Lawrie’s long-term sights.
• Since beating Maruyama, he’s taken off and booked his place in the semi-finals on Friday night by beating Francois Schweyen 4-0. He sealed it with a 16-darter in the deciding leg, and averaged 92.06.
• What has Luke Littler said? Writing on Instagram, Littler took notice of the youngster. In the comments section of a clip in which Lawrie checked out 121 against Jason Brandon, he wrote: “This kid is a joke.”
• Lawrie is aware of the comparisons between him and Littler, but he’s not interested in being the second anyone. He said: “I’ll never be him. I’ll always be Mitchell Lawrie at the end of the day. What he’s (Littler) done is unbelievable. He’s made this sport what it is. There’s so much attention to it because of him but I’ll never be him, I’ll always be me and that’s just how it’s going to be.”
• What has Gary Anderson said? Lawrie’s idol is fellow Scot Gary Anderson. The youngster joked he’s already done better than the veteran ever did at Lakeside and Anderson was happy to give him it. The 54-year-old smiled: “He’s doing brilliant. He’s something else.”
• When is he playing next? Lawrie face fellow teenager Jenson Walker on Saturday afternoon in the last four. If he wins, he’ll face either Jimmy van Schie or Sybren Dijbels in Sunday’s final. If his rise continues, it won’t be too long before he makes the jump to the PDC and appear at the major mainstream TV events.