SCOTT Mitchell fell victim to some forbidding scheduling at last weekend's Isle of Man Open – but insisted he was "happy to take one for the team" in the BDO's fight for maximum publicity.

Bransgore's Mitchell progressed to the last-four of the lower ranked Isle of Man Classic, which was contested alongside the prestigious Open.

His sparkling run in the former event, however, which saw him reel off six victories before being pipped 6-5 by eventual champion Jamie Hughes in the semi-finals, came at a price.

Within five minutes of his adrenaline fuelled clash with Hughes, Mitchell was slugging it out in the early rounds of the more lucrative tournament.

The crammed schedule came at the behest of television channel FrontRunner, which broadcast both events.

Mitchell told the Daily Echo: "I played Jamie, then walked straight off stage to play in the last-32 of the Open against Scott Dockerty.

"Having played brilliantly on stage I came off and didn’t play well at all, it just didn’t happen for me and I lost 4-2.

"I literally had less than five minutes to prepare. I had six practice darts, the whole draw was being held up by me.

"I was feeling guilty about that.

"This is the first time TV has been available for both days and it’s something we really wanted to happen, so we all had to make sacrifices – and it was a big sacrifice.

"But I’m quite happy that I played well enough that I put myself in that situation for it to be a problem. I’d have taken that beforehand.

"The bottom line is, you have to take one for the team and if it ends up that we are on television a little bit more and on a new station, then you have to go with that."

Mitchell, also a semi-finalist at last month's Dutch Open and now preparing for this weekend's Hal Open in Holland, is expecting the Isle of Man organisers to tweak proceedings next year.

Nevertheless, he doesn't want that to happen at the cost of the jeopardy he believes makes BDO competitions so attractive.

"The schedules will be changed next time," said Mitchell.

"We’ve all learned a lot from it but we love our BDO darts and everybody likes to watch it on telly, because nobody knows who is going to win – least of all us.

"But the more TV coverage we can get, the better. Sometimes that will require a little compromise."

Mitchell collected 16 world ranking points for his run in the Classic, and only two fewer as reward for reaching the last 32 of the Open.

The 2015 world champion also revealed he is due to visit a consultant to finalise plans for treatment on the torn meniscus in his right knee.

The 46-year-old had been hoping the injury would heal naturally but he could be forced to go under the knife.