MITCHELL LAWRIE was denied a moment of sporting history as he was schooled on the darts oche.
The 15-year-old Scottish schoolboy was trying to become the youngest winner of a senior world crown in history.
Yet he collapsed after going 3-0 up as Dutchman Jimmy van Schie – who is 32 – won six sets in a row to claim the WDF World title 6-3.
No1 seed Van Schie, who gave it back to a heckler who whistled as he threw in set eight, banked the £50,000 top prize as he ruined the fairytale finish.
The Renfrew thrower, nicknamed ‘Wee Sox’, was trying to be a younger world champion than Luke Littler, who was 17 when he lifted the Sid Waddell Trophy on the PDC ranks in January.
Lawrie, who still earned a lifechanging £19,000 for being a finalist and youth champion, said: “What’s the main emotion? That was rubbish. I went 3-0 sets up and then couldn’t hit a thing. Terrible.
“Getting here in the first place means a lot. I am not happy but it is what it is.
“I wasn’t good enough at the end. There are a lot of positives to take. I came up short.”
Breda battler Van Schie said: “Oh my god. He’s such a phenomenal player. A power scorer. Shows he is mature for his age.
“The sky is the limit for him. I had a tough battle. I had to keep fighting and believing in myself. I am very happy with the win.
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“He is the future of darts. He is such a talent. The crowd was a little bit in Mitchell’s favour and I get that.”
Lawrie is a bit of a joker and walked out to the oche holding a sign that said “No United, no party” and wore flashing green glasses.
But fatigue and tiredness may have been a factor as the senior finale came a few hours after he had been crowned the world youth champion.
Lawrie beat German kid Florian Preis 4-2 in that final and earned £3,000 in prize money.
Though he had asked his mum to grab a Chinese for him to celebrate with, he did not have the stamina to get over the line.
In leg four of set five, the Holland ace had the chance to seal a nine-darter on the Lakeside stage.
The last time one had been seen in this arena was by Singapore slinger Paul Lim 35 years ago during the now-defunct BDO’s heyday.
But Schie was so close, wiring the double 18, though the crowd gave him respect as he was throwing.
Top pro Stephen Bunting – who won the BDO world crown on the same stage in Frimley Green in 2014 – said: “Mitchell is a class act and at just 15 years of age, the world is his lobster.”
In the women’s event, Deta Hedman, at 66, crushed Holland’s Lerena Rietbergen 4-1 to become the sport’s oldest female champion, but it was a poor final with a high average of 72.01.
