A star may well be on the rise. In a weekend that’s already turning heads in darts, 14-year-old Mitchell Lawrie produced a moment of pure brilliance by hitting a nine-darter in an amateur event—mirroring a feat once achieved by Luke Littler himself.
A young star emulates a legend
At an ADC Vault tournament held in The County bar, Cambuslang (Glasgow area), Lawrie sealed a 3–0 win over Brendon Clark and alongside that victory executed the dream sequence for any darts player: a perfect leg of 174, 180, 147. In doing so, he matched a rare accomplishment previously chalked up on Littler’s résumé.
It’s not the first time Lawrie’s name has been mentioned in the same breath as Littler’s. Just weeks earlier, he captured the Welsh Open senior title by defeating Darren Johnson 6–1, becoming one of the youngest ever to win a senior WDF title. That triumph echoed Littler’s own early career path, when Littler also picked up his first senior title at age 14.
Then came another milestone: Lawrie blitzed through the British Open, hammering Ryan Hogarth 5–0 in the final, scoring three maximums, and posting a tournament-average of 102.95. His recent nine-darter is the latest sign that his trajectory is rising steeply.
From lockdown passion to competitive promise
Lawrie is currently a pupil at Renfrew High School, and he traces his early darts development back to the COVID-19 lockdowns. “I started playing a lot during lockdown in a Monday night online league, and that’s when I started playing a lot, maybe six or seven hours a day,” he said in a recent interview. However, his focus lapsed briefly once lockdowns ended, only to reignite when his family moved house—“that’s when I realised how good I was.”
He adds: “I usually practise for around two to two and a half hours a day, and sometimes it can be more, but that is the routine that I stick to.”
His mother, Lynne, offered a touching glimpse at how early his journey in darts began: “He was probably around two or three,” she recalled. “My dad was big on darts, and I can remember my dad lifting him out of his pram and holding him up so he could play at the dart board. So we bought him his own dart board… and then we thought ‘okay, let’s get him a real dart board and see where it goes from there.’” She continued: “He would just throw away at it, and keep throwing away, and throwing away, and then from there it was every year when the Scottish Open came.”
It’s become clearer now than ever that Lawrie’s casual childhood throws have evolved into serious ambition.
The Littler comparisons — fair or not?
Luke Littler’s meteoric rise in darts has indeed set a high bar. He’s the youngest player ever to hit a televised nine-dart finish, and his early success set the tone for a “next generation” narrative. That said, Lawrie doesn’t merely echo Littler’s early feats—he builds on them.
What’s important to note is this comparison carries both possibility and pressure. On one hand, it offers excitement: a new teenage star rising in Scotland. On the other, critics will caution against burdening him too early. At 14, with a nine-darter to his name and senior titles in hand, Lawrie is already drawing attention—but there is room for growth, refinement, and resilience.
He is still early in the shape of his career—just a spark now, not yet a flame. But this weekend’s perfect leg may be the kind of turning point that heavyweights in darts watch closely.
To be sure, the darts world has already begun pointing north of the border with interest. With raw talent, composed quotes, and early success in senior events, Mitchell Lawrie has effectively announced himself not as a footnote, but as a name to watch.
If he continues evolving, he could emerge not merely as “the next Littler,” but as a new voice leading darts into its next chapter.
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