Cam Crabtree delivered a stunning upset to eliminate Luke Littler from the World Youth Championship semi-finals, winning 6-5 in a thrilling encounter at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan. The 23-year-old will now face Jan Schmidt in the final at Minehead, with both players chasing the prestigious youth title.
Littler, the 2023 World Youth Champion, found himself in unfamiliar territory as Crabtree raced into a commanding 2-0 lead. However, the Warrington sensation mounted an immediate response, reeling off three consecutive legs to seize control at 3-2. A magnificent 164 checkout followed by back-to-back 14-dart finishes demonstrated Littler's quality, but Crabtree refused to wilt under the pressure.
The momentum swung back towards Crabtree, who produced clinical finishing with 92 and 100 checkouts to edge ahead 5-4. Littler showed his fighting spirit once more, unleashing a terrific 117 to force a decisive final leg. Yet Crabtree held his nerve, firing in a 16-dart hold on double six to seal victory with a 97.91 average, marginally edging Littler's 97.89.
This was Littler's first competitive outing since his shock defeat to Luke Woodhouse in the opening stage of the World Grand Prix, a loss that marked a significant setback in his bid to retain the Grand Prix title. His exit from the youth championship means he will not hold both the senior and youth world titles simultaneously.
Littler had entered the tournament as the overwhelming favourite after an imperious run through the group stage, winning all three matches. He then dispatched Lewis Cook in the last 16, recovering from 3-0 down to secure victory. A commanding 6-1 demolition of David Fidler followed, before he beat Archie Self 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.
A 6-2 victory over Harrison Leigh booked his place in the final four, but Crabtree proved too strong when it mattered most. According to Darts World, Crabtree had already secured a place at Alexandra Palace through the Development Tour Order of Merit before the semi-final, meaning he had already qualified for the World Championship regardless of this result.
Crabtree's path to the final was equally impressive. The 23-year-old beat Sebastian Bialecki 6-2, Henry Coates 6-5 and Charlie Manby 6-3 in the knockout rounds, demonstrating consistency across multiple matches to reach the showpiece.
Schmidt makes history
Schmidt's presence in the final is particularly noteworthy, as the German has become the third player from his country to reach the World Youth Championship final, following Max Hopp and Martin Schindler. The final will be contested as a best-of-11-legs match.
Mardle questions Littler's participation
Sky Sports commentator Wayne Mardle has raised eyebrows about Littler's decision to enter the youth championship in the first place.
I don't know what he wants to gain from it. It doesn't make any sense to me. I just don't see the value time-wise. Because time-management's everything when you're playing a lot.
Mardle believes Littler's recent struggles extend beyond individual defeats.
I'm never concerned with people losing because this is a hard industry to keep winning. The fact that he was winning all those matches on the trot in majors anyway was ridiculous.
The pundit pointed to the manner of Littler's losses rather than the results themselves.
It's the way he's been losing. He's not been playing that well. This is no offence and no disrespect to Luke Woodhouse. Luke Woodhouse actually said himself that it was a scrappy game. It's the fact that Luke Littler didn't play well.
Mardle concluded by offering perspective on Littler's current form.
I just think he's underperforming right now, for whatever reason. Bearing in mind we're humans, we're not robots, we're not automatons, we do have off days as well. He's just having a couple of off days right now.
Context of Littler's season
Littler's defeat at the World Youth Championship compounds what has been a turbulent period for the world number one. Earlier in 2026, he appeared destined to complete an unprecedented clean sweep of all major PDC titles, having already won six majors. However, his bid came unstuck in Amsterdam during the World Series Finals, where he complained about being repeatedly whistled at by Dutch supporters.
The losses have mounted since then. His unexpected exit from the World Grand Prix to Woodhouse was particularly jarring, and now the youth championship defeat means he has fallen short of his historic ambitions for the year.
Tournament details
The World Youth Championship is open to players aged 16-24 and offers £60,000 in prize money. The winner earns a place in the Grand Slam of Darts, with the Alexandra Palace qualification spot going to the champion if they have not already qualified through other means.
What happens next
The final between Crabtree and Schmidt is scheduled for Sunday, 29 November, at Butlin's Minehead Resort and will be contested as a best-of-11-legs match.
For Littler, the focus now turns to the European Tour season, which continues with the Swiss Darts Trophy (October 9-11) and the Dutch Darts Championship (October 16-18) before the European Championship takes place in Dortmund, Germany from October 22-25. The Grand Slam of Darts follows in November (14-22), with the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace running from December 10 to January 3.
