DAVE Chisnall told Scott Mitchell he had deserved to reach the knockout rounds of the Grand Slam of Darts – minutes after the Bransgore thrower's defeat handed his old mate a reprieve.

Following PDC star Chisnall's 5-4 loss to Jeffrey de Zwaan, Mitchell needed victory over Stephen Bunting to progress beyond the group stage and bank a guaranteed £10,000 in prize money.

But despite roaring into a 3-0 lead, the Dorset and England star eventually succumbed 5-4 to his opponent, both players suffering under the pressure of a final-leg shootout.

And with Mitchell licking his wounds in the players' lounge at Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Chisnall – who advanced despite beating only Mitchell in Group F – offered his friend some words of consolation.

Mitchell told the Daily Echo: "After the game, I wanted 10 minutes to gather my thoughts.

"Chizzy came over and told me not to let a game of darts get me down. He sat there with me and told me he had not deserved to go through and that he hadn't played as well as I had all week.

"When people like that are coming to you and saying you are a bit of player, you respect the influence they have.

"Sometimes you ride your luck and get through but this tournament didn't happen that way for me.

"I've been on the good end of the one-leg shootouts of late, although probably not as public as that one. To lose one like that which was in the public eye was a little bit disappointing.

"I knew it was going to be a tight group and I was pleased with how I handled everything but if I could change one thing, that last leg would be it."

Mitchell had been imperious in charging into a 3-0 lead but he confessed becoming conscious of his favourable position had ended up working against him.

He added: "At 3-0 I started to think about the situation a bit, rather than going and getting the other two legs.

"I should have kept it simple but I started thinking about the game and that's when you get knocked.

"It's very easy to do and we all do it, it's just whether we get away with it or not."

Surviving Bunting's heavy scoring in the first leg, the 47-year-old took out 76 on double four.

He kicked off with a 180 en route to the second leg and mopped up 61 via unconventional means.

However, Bunting was far from done and the St Helens ace first nailed 48 before pinning double four, bringing the score back to 3-2.

Mitchell then went high with three attempts at tops and Bunting gratefully profited.

The duo won further leg apiece to send the match to a decider and with both faltering, it was Bunting who crawled across the finish line on double 10.