There are not many players that can boast victories over both Luke Humphries and Luke Littler within a six-week period, but Cam Crabtree is part of that exclusive club.

The fresh-faced 23-year-old is no stranger to disrupting the darting status quo, after also dispatching Jonny Clayton on his Wolverhampton debut 12 months ago.

Crabtree will be eyeing further scalps when he makes his Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts return this weekend, as he prepares to face three-time runner-up James Wade and 2025 quarter-finalist Ricky Evans in Group K.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” insisted the former Development Tour champion.

“I had a great time last year, so to be back in Wolverhampton is really nice.

“It was surreal making my debut here. Jonny is amazing, so to beat a player of his calibre in the way that I did was really impressive for me.”

Crabtree confirmed his 2026 qualification courtesy of his Winmau World Youth Championship exploits, featuring a superb semi-final victory over world number one Littler.

The man nicknamed ‘Shazam’ produced a magical display to account for the World Champion, averaging almost 98 and defying finishes of 164 and 117 from Littler to prevail in a last-leg epic.

“I’ve never done that well at the World Youth Championship before, but then I have run into Wessel [Nijman] and Gian [van Veen],” Crabtree continued.

“I beat some good players this year. I had a really good game against Kaya Baysal. He was finishing everything!

“Then to play Luke was fun. I was just looking forward to the game. I wasn’t worried about the result. I just thought: ‘Let’s go and put on a good performance’ and I managed to do that.

“I’ve now beaten both of the Lukes [Littler and Humphries] in the space of about six weeks!

“That’s not an easy thing to do because they’re the two best players in the world, so I’m feeling confident in my game.

“Having beaten them on the floor, now I just need to take that to the stage and maybe I can do that in Wolverhampton.”

The Grand Slam will mark the start of a potentially defining few weeks for Crabtree, who will face Germany’s Jan Schmidt in the World Youth Championship final on November 29.

The pair will go head-to-head at Butlin’s Minehead Resort, as Crabtree bids to join the illustrious roll of honour and claim his first piece of televised silverware.

Of the 13 players to win the World Youth Championship, six have since claimed senior televised titles, while three have gone on to lift the sport’s biggest prize at Alexandra Palace.

“That would be amazing,” admitted the Londoner.

“To be a World Champion is something that everyone dreams of. It’s another opportunity to play on a big stage, so I’m really looking forward to it.

“You look at some of the names to win the World Youth Championship. Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, Josh Rock, Michael Smith.

“There are others too that have achieved amazing things in their career, so it would be a great thing to have on my CV and hopefully that can be the start of something pretty special.”

Crabtree is approaching the latter stages of his second year as a Tour Card Holder, with his second World Darts Championship appearance also on the horizon.

The talented youngster made a Players Championship semi-final last July and also featured in a brace of ProTour quarter-finals in 2025, finishing inside the top 40 of the Players Championship rankings.

Crabtree couldn’t replicate that consistency in 2026, narrowly missing out on qualification for the upcoming Players Championship Finals as a consequence.

Nevertheless, he still has a wonderful opportunity to make this season one to remember, starting with the Grand Slam.

“It’s not been as good a season as last year. I’m under no illusions about that,” declared the 23-year-old.

“There are probably some reasons for that which I’m aware of and I’m working to put those right.

“I’ve managed to come into the Grand Slam, World Championship and World Youth Championship final off the back of a not very good season, so that’s something I can take away and be proud of.

“Now we will see if the back end of the year can turn it into a good year!

“I just want to go up there and play the way I can, and what happens from there, we’ll see!”

The 2026 Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).