SCOTT Mitchell is looking to end his first year on the Professional Darts Corporation circuit in memorable fashion, starting with this weekend's televised Players Championship Finals.
Scotty Dog won his PDC tour card in dramatic fashion on the final day of qualifying back in February, earning him the right to compete amongst the elite all year.
And the 51-year-old has taken to the switch like a duck to water, comfortably securing his spot at this weekend's event in Minehead, as well as next month's lucrative World Championship at Alexandra Palace.
Mitchell, who qualified as the number 30 seed for the 64-player event, begins his quest for glory at Butlin's on Friday afternoon.
He will face Dutchman Martijn Kleermaker in the first game of the day on stage two, due to begin at around 12.45pm.
Victory could set up a tasty clash with in-form Welshman Jonny Clayton in front of the ITV4 cameras on Saturday.
Looking ahead to the Players Championship Finals, with the worlds also looming large, Dorset ace Mitchell told the Daily Echo: "I will just go one tournament at a time at the moment and prepare for the Players Championships at the end of the month on ITV4 and it will be nice for some of the Scotty Dog fans to see me back on telly I think.
"It will be a nice gauge to know where I am and how much work I’ve got to do in the weeks after.
"But I haven’t played that badly all year. My running average is 92, 93 and that’s right up there with the guys in the top 30.
"My averages are telling me I’ve qualified where I should’ve done for the Players Championships probably, and we just want to continue that on.
"Because if you’re doing those averages, you’ve always got a chance to win games."
Mitchell qualified for the event in a higher position than the likes of Adrian Lewis, Mervyn King and Simon Whitlock on the ProTour rankings, which measures performance over the past 10 months in tournaments away from the mainstream TV cameras.
He has also been alongside Dutch legend Raymond van Barneveld for much of the year on the ranking list, the five-time world champion eventually qualifying for Minehead as 26th seed, with Mitchell just below having pocketed £23,000 from his exploits on the floor.
"It’s not bad considering Barney got most of his ranking points from one (event), because he won one," said Mitchell.
"Mine has been through being consistent. I think I made three or four quarter-finals in the Pro Tours, which is two I got absolutely smashed in and two probably I should’ve won.
"You just continue to learn and continue to graft. If you get it right then what you deserve will come to you."
The winner of the Players Championship Finals will take home £100,000 in prize money.
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