Mill Hill’s John Scott is backing Jimmy van Schie to win the 2024 Lakeside WDF World Darts Championship.

The 46th edition of this iconic championship (previously the BDO World Professional Darts Championship) runs at Lakeside Country Club, Frimley Green, Surrey from Friday until December 8.

But Scott, 46, a former tour card holder on the multi-million pound PDC circuit before fully returning to the semi-professional WDF circuit in 2017, failed to make the main 48-man draw after being way off the qualifying mark with his current world number 87 ranking.

Arsenal-fan Scott, who regularly plays in the Hertfordshire Super League for Mill Hill Services Club, appeared in the 2022 and 2023 tournaments, where he lost in round two to charismatic American Leonard Gates.

But in this year’s qualifiers in Budapest, Hungary in October he lost in the third round to Croatia’s 210-ranked and current PDC card holder Romeo Grbavac.

He said: “Of course it’s going to feel odd not being there after playing the last two years. But hopefully that will be my motivation to do better this year.

“It was a tough year despite a good start and I just didn’t seem to have any luck on my side! When I was playing badly I was getting chances and not taking them, and when I was playing well my opponents seemed to play just that bit better.

“I’ve been playing well for Mill Hill Services Club and enjoying my darts again. Towards the end of the ranking season, travelling became more of a necessity than it was enjoyable so I think getting that positive mindset back is essential if I want to get back to succeeding on the tour.”

With Belgian Andy Baetens not returning to defend his title after making the switch to PDC, Scott believes Dutchman van Schie, the current WDF world number one and a winner of eight WDF ranking titles and the Winmau PDC Challenger Tour 18 event in Milton Keynes in August, can beat Australian trio Danny Porter and Brandon Weening, Peter Machin and Northern Ireland’s 2022 champion Neil Duff to the £50,000 top prize.

“When I looked at the draw, the two halves are very open but for differing reasons with the bottom stacked with all the likely favourites,” he said.

“My personal pick is Jimmy van Schie, a player I hadn't come across before January but one who had impressed me at every tournament I’ve seen him.

"He doesn’t seem fazed by anything and at times he is unplayable. He’s in the tough side of the draw but I wouldn't be surprised to see him lift the title on his debut Lakeside appearance.

“In the top half I actually think Peter Machin could do well. He’s a former World Trophy winner and very consistent this year.”

The 2024 Lakeside WDF World Darts Championship is exclusively live on BLAZE.