THE heating has roared into life in Scott Mitchell's hotel room – and the Bransgore thrower hopes to keep the temperature red-hot on the Lakeside stage.

Mitchell recorded his best BDO World Championship figures in sinking Darius Labanauskas in a first-round thriller on Saturday, despite spending the previous night in a room without a working radiator.

But with warmth restored to his temporary living quarters after several chilly days, Scotty Dog will enjoy the best possible preparation ahead of his last-16 clash with number-13 seed Andy Baetens tomorrow (12.30pm).

He told the Daily Echo: "The rooms hadn't been used much over Christmas so they lost their heat and it was really cold for the first two days. It was a case of sitting in your room in your coat.

"It affected the whole of the hotel to start with and I was unfortunate to be in one of the last rooms sorted but these things happen. We are back on now, which is the main thing.

"I thought Darius was fantastic in the first round and I think we bounced off each other and produced a great match. I was happy to be on the right side of it and I think with Andy, I'm going to have to do more of the same.

"He's a young guy with nothing to lose and he will have no fear of playing me having played me a few times before.

"You can't have peaks and troughs at Lakeside, you have to remain fairly consistent and I think I'm going to have to average 90-plus to beat him.

"I will be concentrating on doing what I do and not what he does, because with one or two mistakes at vital times, a game can slip."

Mitchell, a landscape gardener and farmer, holds the edge in head to heads with the Frimley Green newcomer.

The Dorset county thrower saw off Baetens 5-3 at the Finder Masters 13 months ago and then thrashed him 6-1 in the final of the Denmark Open the following April.

However, the 28-year-old hit back with a 4-0 victory in the England Masters quarter-finals in September, a tournament he went on to win.

That was one of three titles secured by Baetens last year, the others being the Belgium Masters and the Romanian Classic.

Reflecting on his opening few days in Surrey, Mitchell added: "It would have been a nightmare to go out on Saturday because then your whole 12 months is over and done with on the first day.

"I've played a game and have had a few days to settle into the surroundings, so it feels as if I'm part of the tournament now, which is a better feeling."

Mitchell is competing at Lakeside for the ninth time. In six of his previous eight campaigns, he has failed to make it past the second round.

He reached the quarter-final in 2016 having memorably triumphed the previous year.