Cameron Menzies cut his hand open after punching a drinks stand in frustration following his 3-2 defeat by Charlie Manby in the first round of the PDC World Darts Championship. The Scot twice led in the match but was edged out by the 20-year-old from Huddersfield, who took the decider after both players missed multiple darts at double.
Menzies punched the underside of the table three times, knocking over water bottles and drawing boos from the crowd. He was visibly upset while congratulating Manby and later held his hands up to apologise before leaving the stage. It marked the second consecutive year Menzies has been eliminated in the first round at Alexandra Palace, having broken down in tears after his exit to Leonard Gates last December.
Sky Sports commentator Glen Durrant said Menzies would regret the outburst for the rest of his life. 'It wasn't the ending we all want to see,' Durrant said. 'For Cameron Menzies, I think he will regret that for the rest of his life, it wasn't a good watch.'
Menzies later issued a statement apologising for his 'emotional' reaction. He said: 'First of all, I would like to apologise for what happened. I am sorry that I reacted in the manner that I did. It's not an excuse, but I have had a lot of things on my mind recently and I suppose it all just became too much at the end.'
The 30-year-old revealed that his uncle Gary had recently passed away, and that his second-round match would have fallen on the day of the funeral had he won. 'Had I won the game against Charlie, my second match would have been on the day of Gary's funeral and that hasn't been lost on me,' Menzies said. He stressed that it was no excuse and praised his opponent, saying: 'He played well. This is not how I would like people to view me.'
