In pursuit of high capacitance activated carbons, we targeted the synthesis of highly disordered carbons with small graphene-like domains. Indeed, previous modelling studies, as well as experimental work on carbide-derived carbons, showed that lower temperature syntheses give rise to carbons with more defects and smaller graphene-like domains. We here synthesise a range of highly disordered activated carbons and find that their high capacitances correlate with their small graphene-like domain sizes, while the electrolyte accessibility to the carbon pores also plays an important role. Our work shows that low-temperature synthesis is a promising method for producing nanoporous activated carbons with a more disordered local structure and enhanced energy storage in EDLCs, offering a clear principle for designing nanoporous with better performance.