Defending Lakeside champion Scott Mitchell defeated by Richard Veenstra

Richard Veenstra has continued his run at the BDO World Championship by knocking out defending champion Scott Mitchell by a 5-3 scoreline.

Earlier this week, the debutant beat third seed Jeffrey de Graaf, but on Friday night, the Dutchman eclipsed that achievement by getting the better of a below-par Mitchell.

Veenstra eased into a 2-0 advantage before Mitchell reeled off five successive legs, but that run of form only brought him one set and Veenstra responded by opening up a 4-1 advantage.

Mitchell hit back with his best darts of the contest, but Veenstra held his nerve in the eighth set to move through to the semi-finals.

Jeff Smith has also booked his place in tomorrow's last four after securing a 5-2 victory over Dennis Harbour.

The Canadian quickly found himself two sets adrift as Harbour averaged over 102 during the early stages, but Smith, who also reached the semi-finals last year, improved to take the next five sets and move closer to a first final.