SCOTT Mitchell remained upbeat after his last-16 exit at the Dutch Open.

The Bransgore ace had powered to seven wins in a field of almost 3,500 players, including a last-leg victory over Tony Martin.

Scotty Dog's bid to reach a third straight quarter-final at the event in Assen came to end with a 4-1 defeat to eventual finalist Ryan Hogarth.

Mitchell told the Daily Echo: "You don't mind losing when you have given it your all. I didn't play too badly in the match I lost.

"To claim the Dutch Open, you need to win 11 games in a row. I was just a couple short.

"I am very happy with how I am playing at the moment.

"To make the last 16 when there were 3,489 players in the singles competition is still a good achievement."

A strong start to the campaign had left Mitchell first in the BDO's seasonal rankings prior to his trip to the Netherlands.

"I was fourth seed and would have loved to have made the semi-final to meet my seeding," said Mitchell.

"There is an expectation going into matches as a favourite against the majority of the field but I try not to let it affect me."