Bennett on pressure ahead of BDO World Championship debut against Mitchell: "I’d rather people talked about my ability than my age"

Leighton Bennett will make his BDO World Championship debut on Tuesday at the age of only 14 when he takes on Scott Mitchell in the first round.

Bennett said that the pressure will be on the former World Champion and that he wishes that people talked about his ability going into the match instead of his age.

He added that his main tactic is to just play the board and not worry about the tournament or his opponent knowing what he can do.

“It’s obviously very exciting to be in the draw and then awesome to get such a big name and great guy like Scott (Mitchell)," said Bennett to LincolnshireLive.

"I know that it will probably be the biggest match of the round because of my age. I guess a lot of pressure will be put on Scott to win easy.

"I’d rather people talked about my ability than my age. I know that will come when I’m older. The age thing doesn’t matter when we get on stage.

"I’ve been very lucky so far in my career. I have beaten some good players along the way but this is when it really counts in a World Championship.

"This is all massive experience for me. Scott is one of the nicest guys in darts so I know he’ll be great to play against.

"I need to just go there and play the board, not the tournament or Scott. I know what I can do when I play my best darts."