REIGNING champion Scott Mitchell’s BDO world title defence ended in heartache with a 5-3 defeat to qualifier Richard Veenstra last night.

The Dutch international, who lost to Mitchell in the Belgian Open in August, himself endured a shaky night under the Frimley Green spotlight.

But New Forest farmer Mitchell, from Bransgore, paid the price for missing a plethora of doubles in a match beset by patchy form from both players.

Mitchell admitted he had “felt the pressure” from the outset, missing six doubles with the throw in the opening leg. 

He broke straight back with a 141 checkout on a double 12, the highest checkout of the quarter-finals, but by the end of the third leg, 15 doubles had already been missed between rivals.

The Dutchman spurned a presentable chance to take the opening set but Mitchell’s failure to finish 102 allowed his opponent to eventually go one up.

Veenstra seemed to regain his focus with a composed opener in the second and a 100 checkout saw him head off the Lakeside stage with a two-set lead.

Fellow England international Mark McGeeney rallied his captain during the first interval and Mitchell came back out with 140 en route to a confidence-boosting leg victory before going two up in the third with a treble 10 and double 16.

Veenstra, who gained two 180s in the set, then missed three darts at double top to break back and a double four on the back of consistently hitting triple figures saw Dorset's darts talisman claim a third-set whitewash.

The rejuvenated number-six seed then checked out 101 to immediately seize the initiative in set four with a 96 checkout to follow but Veenstra crucially ended a run of five straight Mitchell leg wins, in which he did not miss a double, to hang in there.

The pendulum dramatically swung again as Veenstra broke back for two legs all with the throw and a 110 finish on double 16 suddenly made it 3-1.

Mitchell wobbled and blew darts at double two and double one to let Veenstra break at the start of the fifth set with more stray finishes paving the way for the qualifier to move within one set of an upset.

Like the previous interval, Mitchell again gathered himself with a break and then a pair of 180s to move two ahead in the sixth, a set he won with a spectacular 142 finish to drag matters back to 4-2.

And while Veenstra kept his foot on the gas with his eighth and ninth maximums of the night in the seventh set, Mitchell held firm as each leg went with the darts to extend his evening.

But bullish Veenstra began his march to victory with a 12-dart leg and although Mitchell levelled and stayed alive with a 180, he ran out of steam in set nine.