Former major winner Paul Nicholson has identified 15-year-old Mitchell Lawrie as the player most likely to challenge Luke Littler’s dominance, tipping the Scot as a future rival in a rivalry that could be “off the charts.” Writing in his latest Sporting Life column, Nicholson highlighted Lawrie’s remarkable achievements at such a young age, including topping the WDF rankings and reaching a Lakeside final—something Littler never did.
“Now there’s plenty of potential stars out there but the one we’re getting most excited about is Mitchell Lawrie,” Nicholson wrote. “At the age of 15 he’s already the WDF number 1, he wins pretty much wherever he goes and has already made a Lakeside final, which is something Littler didn't do.” Littler competed at Lakeside in 2022 but was beaten by Richard Veenstra, who produced a record average for the venue. Lawrie went one step further by reaching the final before losing to Jimmy van Schie.
Nicholson’s comparison is backed by numbers: Lawrie’s highest registered tournament average stands at 112.73, while Littler’s best recorded figure at 15 was just above 100. Lawrie has also produced 22 registered averages above 100, compared with only one for Littler at the same age—a 100.20 in the quarter-finals of the JDC World Championship. Nicholson stressed the importance of the word “recorded,” noting both players would have averaged over 100 in tournaments not covered by Dart Connect, but insisted the comparison shows “just how promising Mitchell Lawrie really is.”
The prospect of an England-Scotland rivalry excites Nicholson, who drew parallels to past classics. “We all love an England v Scotland rivalry and we’ve had some crackers in the past such as Bristow v Jocky in the 1980s but Littler v Lawrie will be potentially off the charts in terms of the standards they’ll be throwing at each other.” Nicholson also revealed how his view of Littler’s current opposition has shifted, admitting that a year ago he would have named Luke Humphries as the man to stop Littler, but now believes Littler is “operating on a different planet compared to everyone else.”
Nicholson urged patience with Lawrie’s development, pointing to Beau Greaves as a model. “I’m hoping Lawrie takes his time and takes a leaf out of Beau Greaves’ book,” he said. “He doesn't have to go to Q School and get a tour card immediately. He can just focus on this level for another year, enjoy the Development Tour and also show everyone what he can do in the Modus Super Series – just like Littler did.” Nicholson also mentioned Jack Johnson, Kaya Baysal and Archie Self as other promising young players, but Lawrie remains his standout candidate.
