Mitchell Lawrie has extended his lead on the 2026 JDC Advanced Tour after a strong Easter weekend in Bristol, where he claimed two tournament victories. The Scottish teenager was in outstanding form during an intense weekend, with Events 9 through 12 played on April 4 and 5. With convincing play, he underlined his status as the man in form on the youth circuit.
On Saturday, Lawrie captured his fifth title of the season by winning Event 10. In the final, he brushed aside Alfie O'Flynn-Rogers 6-2, with the match decided by a run of five straight legs. Earlier in the day, he beat compatriot Owen Bryceland 5-3 in a high-quality clash where Bryceland averaged 99.46. In the quarterfinals, Lawrie proved too strong for former junior world champion Lex Paeshuyse of Belgium, with Liam Cook, Jack Courtney, and Harley Glycos also falling on his route to the title. A day later, Lawrie went one better by also taking Event 12. In the final, he swept past Jayden Walker 6-1 with an impressive 103.69 average. He opened his campaign with a whitewash of Luke Cox, averaging 103.66, then gave Reggie Woodmore and Jack Johnson no chance with two dominant 4-0 wins. In the quarterfinals, Lawrie battled back superbly from 3-1 down to beat Lewis Cook, and in the semifinals, he edged Bryceland again in a deciding leg, helped by two ton-plus checkouts.
Alongside Lawrie’s dominant display, there were successes for other talents. Liam Cook and Ben Townley both secured their first JDC title of the year. Cook opened the weekend by winning Event 9, prevailing in a last-leg decider against Jack Nankervis in the final. His semifinal against Mongolian Tergal Khurelkhuu was also settled in the final leg. Earlier in the day, Cook had taken out the likes of Jayden Walker and Archie Self, showing his class with whitewash victories and averages of 98 and 100. Townley followed on Sunday by winning Event 11. The 17-year-old Englishman beat Junior World Masters champion Kaya Baysal 6-5 in a thriller, also needing a deciding leg in the semifinal against Walker. Before that, Townley put together a commanding run with four straight wins in which he dropped only one leg each against Courtney, Alfie Moore, Johnson, and Glycos.
In the JDC Advanced Tour standings, Lawrie has now stretched his lead to twelve points. Walker climbs to second thanks to a series of consistent performances in Bristol. Baysal and Johnson follow close behind Walker, while Cook and Townley, aided by their strong weekend, have moved up to fifth and sixth in the rankings respectively.
