DORSET star Scott Mitchell defeated reigning world champion Peter Wright during a Players Championship event in Barnsley on Sunday.

Mitchell, who has struggled to pick up wins on tour this year and also missed some competitions after contracting COVID-19, produced his strongest run of 2022 by reaching the last 16 of the latest ProTour event.

The Bransgore ace made a strong start against Wright, opening up with a 13-darter, before moving into a 3-1 lead.

The pair continued to exchange legs, before Mitchell also rounded off the contest with another 13-darter to clinch a 6-4 victory, posting a 100.93 average.

Scotty Dog also beat two of Austria's finest talents in Rusty-Jake Rodriguez and Mensur Suljovic, either side of defeating Wright.

He began his day by dispatching of Rodriguez 6-2, before a nervy last-leg decider to see off former Champions League winner Suljovic.

Mitchell's run ended when he ran into a red-hot Nathan Aspinall, who averaged 104.97 in his 6-1 victory, before going on to win the whole event.

In Saturday's event, Mitchell beat Berry van Peer, before losing to Lewis Williams.

On Friday, he failed to qualify for both the Czech Darts Open and the European Darts Grand Prix, losing to Martijn Kleermaker, despite averaging 102, and Andrew Gilding.

Mitchell claimed £2,750 in prize money over the weekend, lifting him up to 69th in the world rankings.

He needs to sit in the top 64 by the end of the year to retain his tour card. Keegan Brown currently occupies that spot, £12,250 ahead of Mitchell.