Scott Mitchell (darts player)

Scott Mitchell (born 5 June 1970) is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments. His most notable achievement was winning the 2015 BDO World Darts Championship.

Scott Mitchell
Mitchell in 2018
Personal information
Nickname"Scotty Dog"
Born (1970-06-05) 5 June 1970 (age 54)
Bournemouth, England
Home townBransgore, England
Darts information
Playing darts since1986
DartsCosmo Darts
LateralityRight Handed
Walk-on music"Who Let the Dogs Out" by Baha Men
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO2007–2020
PDC2020–2024
Current world ranking155 Steady (27 October 2024)[1]
WDF major events – best performances
World Ch'shipWinner (1): 2015
World MastersSemi Final: 2016, 2018
World TrophyQuarter Final: 2014
Finder MastersSemi Final: 2012, 2016, 2017
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'shipLast 96: 2022
UK OpenLast 64: 2021, 2024
Grand SlamGroup Stage: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
PC FinalsLast 32: 2021
WSDT major events – best performances
World Ch'shipLast 16: 2023, 2024
Other tournament wins
TournamentYears
BDO Gold Cup
Belfry Open
British Open
Czech Open
Denmark Masters
Denmark Open
England Classic
England Masters
England Matchplay
England National Ch'ships
French Open
German Open
Hampshire Open
International Open Vizcaya
Isle of Man Classic
Jersey Open
Muensterland Classic
PDC Challenge Tour
Romanian Classic
Sunparks Masters
Swedish Open
Swiss Open
Tops of Ghent
Welsh Open
WDF Europe Cup Pairs
WDF Europe Cup Team
WDF World Cup Team
2018
2017
2014
2017
2018
2017
2009
2015, 2019
2014, 2019
2017, 2018
2013
2018
2013
2018
2016
2014, 2015
2014
2020
2014
2010, 2013
2017
2009, 2010
2014
2016
2014, 2018
2016
2015
Medal record
Men's Darts
Representing  England
WDF Europe Cup
Gold medal – first place 2018 Budapest Men's pairs
Gold medal – first place 2018 Budapest Men's overall
Silver medal – second place 2024 Šamorín Men's pairs
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Šamorín Men's overall

Darts career

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Early career

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Before he made his mark in the BDO, Mitchell qualified for the 2007 UK Open, winning his first round match 8–4 against Brian Cathcart before losing out in the second round to 2006 Lakeside World champion Jelle Klaasen. Mitchell won the England Classic and Swiss Open in 2009 which helped him qualify for the 2010 BDO World Championship as the 14th seed. However, he lost in the first round 3–2 to Northern Ireland's Daryl Gurney. Mitchell retained his Swiss Open title in 2010 and also won the Center Parcs Masters, and qualified for 2011 BDO World Championship as the 15th seed, however he was beaten in the first round 3–0 by Dutch qualifier Jan Dekker.

Mitchell was once again beaten in the first round at Lakeside in 2012, losing to defending champion Martin Adams who won the match 3–0. A year later, Mitchell was drawn to play Mark Barilli in a match that guaranteed the winner would reach the second round at the fourth time of asking while the loser would have lost their first four matches at the world championship. After trailing 2–1 and surviving darts in the fourth set that would have seen Barilli throw for the match, Mitchell won 3–2 and was visibly emotional on stage afterwards. In the next round, Mitchell was beaten by Robbie Green 4–1.

2014 – Breakthrough year

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Mitchell started 2014 at Lakeside again reaching the second round for the second year running by beating Paul Hogan 3–2 in the first round. He was beaten by second seed James Wilson 4–2.

2014 was hugely successful for Mitchell. He won a host of tournaments including several that were televised on Eurosport namely Top of Ghent in Belgium and the Jersey Open. As well as being part of the England team that won the WDF Europe Cup – where Mitchell won the decisive leg in the final, Mitchell won the prestigious British Open. He also reached the quarter-finals of the Winmau World Masters. After missing four match darts he lost 3–2 to Glen Durrant, who Mitchell beat in the Jersey Open final.

2015 – World Champion

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Mitchell's 2014 form saw him enter the world's top four and eventually culminated in him winning the 2015 World Championship.[2] He defeated Tony O'Shea in a sudden death leg after going two sets each and 5–5 in legs. Mitchell then met Geert De Vos from Belgium in the last 16, it was a close fought match in the first four sets being two each with Mitchell taking the fifth set. With the score 2–1 in legs in the sixth set, De Vos missed double 5 to stay alive in the match and Mitchell hit double 20 to edge out De Vos 4–2 and progress through to the last 8. Brian Dawson was Mitchell's opponent in the quarter-finals, "Scotty Dog" winning 5–2. Mitchell beat Jeff Smith 6–0 in the semi-final. In the final Mitchell played three-time winner Martin Adams, and won 7–6 hitting a crucial 158 checkout to break throw in the deciding set. As a result of winning the tournament Mitchell reached number one in the BDO Men's ranking.[citation needed]

He started competing in the Professional Darts Corporation at the start of 2020. After winning one of the first Challenge Tour events, Mitchell was invited to compete on the Players Championship circuit in 2020.

On 17 February 2021, he won a two-year PDC Tour Card at UK Qualifying School.

Personal life

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Mitchell still works full-time on the family farm in rural Dorset and as a freelance landscape gardener. He has been married to Sharon (born 1969) since 1991 and together they have two children, daughter Katie (born 1993) and son Samuel (born 1997). He is also a fan of speedway team Poole Pirates, and has their logo on his left sleeve. He went to school with Mandi and Paul Panton, the children of well known Barry Panton.

Outside darts

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Although Mitchell has played darts competitively from a young age, Scott has had other sporting interests that fitted in with his dart life. He has represented his secondary school in both basketball and football. On reaching 18 years old, Scott applied for his Amateur MotorCycling Association racing licence, and raced motocross competitively for the Christchurch and district A.M.C.A. club from 1988 to 1995. On retiring from motocross, Scott went back to football, playing for his local teams Burley F.C., but mostly for the "Badgers", Bransgore F.C., from 1995 to 2006, winning most-improved player in 2002, and later becoming the team's manager. It was after then that Scott's darts career started to take off, and football had to take a "back seat". He supports his local side, A.F.C. Bournemouth.

World Championship Performances

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WSDT

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Career finals

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BDO major finals: 1 (1 title)

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Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[N 1]
Winner 1. 2015 World Darts Championship   Martin Adams 7–6 (s)
  1. ^ (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets.

Performance timeline

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Tournament 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
BDO Ranked televised events
BDO World Championship DNQ 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R W QF 2R 2R QF SF NH PDC DNP
BDO World Trophy Not held QF 2R 2R 2R 2R 2R NH
Winmau World Masters 5R 4R 3R 3R 3R 6R 2R QF 5R SF 5R SF 4R NH PDC NH
Finder Darts Masters DNQ RR QF SF RR RR RR SF SF QF NH
PDC Ranked televised events
PDC World Championship Non-PDC 1R DNQ
UK Open Non-PDC 4R 2R DNP 4R
Grand Slam of Darts DNQ RR RR RR RR DNQ
Players Championship Finals Non-PDC 2R DNQ
WSDT Televised events
World Seniors Darts Championship Not held DNP 2R 2R
World Seniors Darts Matchplay Not held DNP 1R
Career statistics
Year-end ranking 320 (BDO) 44 (BDO) 14 (BDO) 6 (BDO) 12 (BDO) 7 (BDO) 11 (BDO) 1 (BDO) 5 (BDO) 4 (BDO) 4 (BDO) 4 (BDO) 21 (BDO) 123 75 70

PDC European Tour

Season 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
2021 HDT
DNQ
GDT
DNQ
2022 IDO
DNQ
GDC
DNQ
GDG
DNQ
ADO
DNP
EDO
DNP
CDO
DNQ
EDG
DNQ
DDC
DNQ
EDM
DNQ
HDT
DNQ
GDO
DNQ
BDO
DNQ
GDT
DNQ
2023 BSD
DNP
EDO
DNP
IDO
DNP
GDG
DNP
ADO
DNP
DDC
DNP
BDO
DNP
CDO
DNP
EDG
DNP
EDM
DNP
GDO
DNP
HDT
2R
GDC
DNQ
Performance Table Legend
DNP Did not play at the event DNQ Did not qualify for the event NYF Not yet founded #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)
QF lost in the quarter-finals SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament

References

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  1. ^ "PDC Order of Merit". PDPA. 27 October 2024. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  2. ^ "BDO World Darts: Scott Mitchell beats Martin Adams to win title". BBC Sport. 11 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
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