Cam Crabtree denies Luke Littler to reach World Youth Championship Final alongside Jan Schmidt

Cam Crabtree will face Jan Schmidt in the 2026 PDC World Youth Championship final after stunning World Champion Luke Littler in Wigan on Monday.

Crabtree, last year’s Development Tour winner, held his nerve in a dramatic last-leg shootout to subject Littler to a second successive semi-final exit in the event.

The 23-year-old established a 2-0 lead before Littler hit back with three on the spin, including a sensational 164 checkout, to hit the front.

Crabtree, however, responded with checkouts of 92 and 100 to move 5-4 in front, only for Littler to produce a skin-saving 117 checkout to force a decider.

Littler struggled to make inroads on the Crabtree throw, notably registering a score of just 31, as a 16-darter on double six proved enough for Crabtree to prevail with a 98 average.

The event began with a round-robin format, as the 128-player field was split into 32 groups of four, with the top two players from each group progressing to the knockout phase.

Crabtree overcame Kai Clark, Lleyton Molyneux and Hungary’s Almos Kovacs in the group phase, before easing through to the Last 16 with successive 6-2 wins over Lenny Schlueter and Lewis Mayes.

Following a 6-1 rout of Joseph Simpson, Crabtree then ran out a 6-4 winner against Turkey’s Kaya Baysal in the quarter-finals, after the 16-year-old had clinched a maiden Development Tour title on Sunday.

Schmidt, meanwhile, is bidding to join his compatriot Max Hopp in becoming the second German player to claim the World Youth Championship title, following a series of impressive displays in Wigan.

The 22-year-old, who reached the Last 16 of July’s European Darts Open, safely navigated his way through the group stage with victories over Kyle Manton, Connor Mitchell and Keanu van Velzen.

Having averaged 99.9 in a superb 6-2 win over Owen Roelofs, Schmidt then fought back from 5-4 down to deny Denmark’s Daniel Kortbek, surviving two match darts in the closing stages.

However, the German continued his bid by dumping out second seed Sebastian Bialecki in the Last 16, before winning through another last-leg thriller against Henry Coates – a winner on the ProTour in July.

Charlie Manby awaited Schmidt in an intriguing semi-final tie, but it was the emerging German who claimed the spoils, averaging almost 95 to wrap up a resounding 6-3 victory.

Littler was bidding to join Gian van Veen and Dimitri Van den Bergh in becoming a two-time World Youth Champion, although that ambition will have to wait until 2027 following another semi-final exit.

The reigning World Champion breezed through the round-robin phase with a trio of 5-1 victories, although he was forced to defy an inspired display from 16-year-old JDC star Lewis Cook in the Last 64.

Cook raced into a 3-0 lead with an average north of 110, only for Littler to win six of the last seven legs and advance to a meeting against Czechia’s David Fidler – which he comfortably won 6-1.

Littler then recorded a 6-4 success against 16-year-old Archie Self in the Last 16, before sweeping aside Harrison Leigh in the quarter-finals.

The 19-year-old was joined in the semi-finals by fellow Tour Card holder Manby – who dumped out Switzerland’s Ansh Sood, Germany’s Jarod Becker and Owen Bates en route.

The final will take place at the Butlins Minehead Resort on Sunday November 29, between the semi-finals and final of the Players Championship Finals.

PDC World Youth Championship 2026 Results (Last 64 onwards)

Monday October 5

Last 64
Luke Littler 6-4 Lewis Cook
David Fidler 6-2 Dylan Quinn
Sean McKeon 6-3 JJ Wright
Archie Self 6-1 Keanu van Velzen
Tavis Dudeney 6-4 Mika Donnevert
Jenson Remory 6-1 James Beeton
Jack Howarth 6-2 Connor Hopkins
Harrison Leigh 6-3 Ieuan Halsall
Cam Crabtree 6-2 Lenny Schlueter
Lewis Mayes 6-5 Charlie Stocks
Mio Varila 6-3 Tyler Thorpe
Joseph Simpson 6-5 Killian Heffernan
Kaya Baysal 6-0 Mason Whitlock
Sam Jackson 6-3 Bram van Dijk
Jurjen van der Velde 6-2 Mitchel Beswick
Damien Decla 6-4 Oliver Pearce-Burgess
Sebastian Bialecki W-F Nathan Girvan
Jenson Walker 6-5 Luuk De Waal
Jan Schmidt 6-2 Owen Roelofs
Daniel Kortbek 6-1 Xanti Van den Bergh
Shane de Jong 6-4 Alexander-Veigar Thorvaldsson
Dylan Slevin 6-2 Keenan Thomas
James Buckby 6-4 Mark Tabak
Henry Coates 6-4 Jamai van den Herik
Angelo Balsamo 6-5 Keane Barry
Ashton Brown 6-2 Kai Clark
Nathan Potter 6-0 Merlin Nicolaus
Arthur Allston 6-5 Nathan Care
Charlie Manby 6-1 Ansh Sood
Jarod Becker 6-2 Dominik Gruellich
Owen Bates 6-3 Liam Maendl-Lawrance
Hunter Eyles 6-4 Zachary Meeks

Last 32
Luke Littler 6-1 David Fidler
Archie Self 6-2 Sean McKeon
Tavis Dudeney 6-3 Jenson Remory
Harrison Leigh 6-3 Jack Howarth
Cam Crabtree 6-2 Lewis Mayes
Joseph Simpson 6-5 Mio Varila
Kaya Baysal 6-5 Sam Jackson
Jurjen van der Velde 6-0 Damien Decla
Sebastian Bialecki 6-5 Jenson Walker
Jan Schmidt 6-5 Daniel Kortbek
Dylan Slevin 6-4 Shane de Jong
Henry Coates 6-3 James Buckby
Ashton Brown 6-1 Angelo Balsamo
Arthur Allston 6-2 Nathan Potter
Charlie Manby 6-1 Jarod Becker
Owen Bates 6-5 Hunter Eyles

Last 16
Luke Littler 6-4 Archie Self
Harrison Leigh 6-3 Tavis Dudeney
Cam Crabtree 6-1 Joseph Simpson
Kaya Baysal 6-2 Jurjen van der Velde
Jan Schmidt 6-2 Sebastian Bialecki
Henry Coates 6-5 Dylan Slevin
Arthur Allston 6-4 Ashton Brown
Charlie Manby 6-5 Owen Bates

Quarter-Finals
Luke Littler 6-2 Harrison Leigh
Cam Crabtree 6-4 Kaya Baysal
Jan Schmidt 6-5 Henry Coates
Charlie Manby 6-2 Arthur Allston

Semi-Finals
Cam Crabtree 6-5 Luke Littler
Jan Schmidt 6-3 Charlie Manby

Final (November 29th)
Cam Crabtree v Jan Schmidt