Mitchell Lawrie doesn’t do quiet weekends. Fresh off a season that’s already seen him crowned world youth champion, “Wee Sox” arrived in Limerick for the 35th edition of the WDF Europe Cup Youth and simply carried on where he left off.
In retaining his boys’ singles title with a 6-1 domination of Belgium’s Jason Goossens in the final, he became just the third player in the tournament’s history to achieve the successful defence of the crown. It capped a week in which Scotland, powered by Lawrie and long-time partner-in-crime Owen Bryceland, swept the boys’ team title and topped the overall standings, ahead of England and a spirited Netherlands side that took bronze.
England did have one answer for the Scots, with Jack Nankervis and Mason Teese denying Lawrie and Bryceland in the pairs final.On the girls’ side, Germany’s Merve Hummel produced a weekend to match Lawrie’s, completing the pairs and singles double, while Türkiye claimed both team gold and the overall girls’ title in what looks like a true breakthrough for the nation’s youth setup.
Add in record entries from 27 nations, a first Irish hosting since 2006, and a University of Limerick crowd watching the sport’s next generation up close, and this was a Europe Cup Youth with no shortage of storylines.England’s AnswerIf there was one dent in Scotland’s armour all week, it came early. Jack Nankervis and Mason Teese, England’s pairing, went into the final day as the form side, having eased through their side of the draw that included promising Turkish and Finnish teams.
They duly stood in the way of Lawire and Bryceland who were hoping for a clean sweep of all the boys’ titles on offer. But the English duo had been here before, after winning the title in 2025. This one went the distance.
The Englishmen held their nerve to edge a last-leg decider 5-4 with both pairs averaging 87 across a final that swayed multiple times, extending England’s winning run in the event to five years.
The Netherlands’ Story
While Scotland and England fought out the headline acts, the Netherlands quietly put together the most eye-catching underdog run of the week. Kai Burger, Bradley van der Velden, Ruben Baalmans and Quinn Sneeboer went into the team event needing a big result to salvage their overall campaign, and got one in the last 16, edging Germany who were one of the pre-tournament favourites, 9-7.
They followed it up with an equally hard-fought 9-7 win over Wales to reach the semi-final, where their run finally met its end: a 9-4 defeat to a rampant Scotland side.That semi-final defeat still came with a medal attached. The bronze in the team event proved the difference-maker in the Dutch overall campaign too, lifting them to third in the boys’ classification behind Scotland and England.
For a Dutch youth setup that hasn’t lifted gold in the event for some years, it’s just the kind of foundation result that tends to matter more than it looks on paper.
WDF Europe Cup Youth winner’s list:
Boys’ singles: Lawrie (Scotland), d. Goosens 6-1
Girls’ singles: Hummel (Germany), d. Allen 5-1
Boys’ pairs: Nankervis & Teese (England), d. Lawrie and Bryceland (Scotland) 5-4
Girls’ pairs: Hummel & Kentzidou (Germany), d. Kirilova & Rova (Latvia) 5-3
Boys’ Team: Scotland
Girls’ Team: Türkiye
Boys’ Overall: Scotland
Girls’ Overall: Türkiye
Images: WDF
