Alexander Thorvaldsson also participated at the World Youth Championship last year. Photo: Archive
Four players from the Nordic and Baltics were among the 128 young players at the 2026 World Youth Championship, and three of them advanced from the group stage.
The Nordic and Baltic region was represented by four players at the Winmau World Youth Championship today in Wigan.
Finnish Mio Varila, Icelandic Alexander Thorvaldsson and Danish Daniel Kortbæk had qualified for the championship due to their positions on the PDCNB rankings ahead of the tournament, and Swedish Sebastian Caris qualified for the event by being in the top 90 (72) of the Development Tour rankings after the conclusion of the tour this weekend.
The four players were drawn into four different groups, with Mio Varila, Alexander Thorvaldsson and Daniel Kortbek advancing to the next stage after winning two matches each in their respective groups.
Sebastian Caris won his first match of the day by 5-2 against Dutch Wessel Tempelaars, before going up against Connor Hopkins in his second match, and even though it was something of a nail-biter the Welshman ended up winning the match 5-4. In the last match of the day, Sebastian Caris lost 5-2 against Henry Coates, who ended as number 11 on the Development Tour rankings.
In the knockout stage Alexander Thorvaldsson lost 6-4 against Shane de Jong despite averaging just above 83.
Mio Varila and Daniel Kortbek however, won their matches in the round of 64 against Tyler Thorpe and Xanti Van den Bergh respectively.
Both players then saw their good run ending, as they both lost in the round of 32. Mio Varila lost 6-5 against Joseph Simpson averaging just above 76. Daniel Kortbek also lost his match by 6-5 against Jan Schmidt averaging impressive 85.33. The German ended up going all the way to the final.
The 2026 World Youth Championship final will be played on Sunday November 29 during the Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals, in which Cam Crabtree and Jan Schmidt will compete for silverware at Butlin’s Minehead Resort.
2026 World Youth Championship
Monday October 5
Robin Park Leisure Centre, Wigan
Mio Varila
Mio Varila 5-1 Jack Boardman (Group Stage)
Mio Varila 0-5 Arthur Allston (Group Stage)
Mio Varila 5-1 Kyana Frauenfelder (Group Stage)
Mio Varila 6-3 Tyler Thorpe (Last 64)
Mio Varila 5-6 Joseph Simpson (Last 32)
Alexander Thorvaldsson
Alexander Thorvaldsson 5-4 Ky Smith (Group Stage)
Alexander Thorvaldsson 5-2 Leon Weber (Group Stage)
Alexander Thorvaldsson 4-5 Jenson Remory (Group Stage)
Alexander Thorvaldsson 4-6 Shane de Jong (Last 64)
Daniel Kortbek
Daniel Kortbek 4-5 JJ Wright (Group Stage)
Daniel Kortbek 5-3 Duyane Wade Decena (Group Stage)
Daniel Kortbek 5-3 Martin Homola (Group Stage)
Daniel Kortbek 6-1 Xanti Van den Bergh (Last 64)
Daniel Kortbek 5-6 Jan Schmidt (Last 32)
Sebastian Caris
Sebastian Caris 5-2 Wessel Tempelaars (Group Stage)
Sebastian Caris 4-5 Connor Hopkins (Group Stage)
Sebastian Caris 2-5 Henry Coates (Group Stage)
