SCOTT Mitchell edged past nemesis Ross Montgomery in an epic 6-5 victory in tonight’s World Darts Trophy opener at Lakeside.
The Bransgore ace battled back from a sluggish start which saw him trail by two legs and then prevented his Scottish counterpart from taking victory with the throw in the penultimate leg.
Montgomery started like a train with a pair of 13-dart legs but missed three doubles to break Mitchell for a second time to go three up.
Scotty Dog sealed an 11-darter by checking out on double 12 to level matters but at 3-2 up, spurned the opportunity to forge ahead when Montgomery lost the plot.
The Scotland captain took 21 darts to restore parity but after Mitchell had held his throw again, Montgomery landed a 140 checkout.
Mitchell appeared to have blown it when he twice clipped the wire targeting double 16, conceding another break to go 5-4 down.
But the Dorset star turned the screw with 134 followed by a double two under pressure to take it to a decider.
Montgomery battled back by hitting 140, 180 and 100 against the throw but Mitchell won with a cool double 18.
Mitchell faces the winner of Dutchman Danny Noppert's clash with Japan's Seigo Asada. Both clashes take place tomorrow.
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