Cameron Menzies extinguished a firework with his bare hand seconds before his shocking attack on a table at the World Darts Championship. The Scottish thrower, 36, was filmed delivering three uppercuts to his table following a dramatic loss to Charlie Manby at Alexandra Palace.
After referee Kirk Bevins ushered him off the stage, blood could be seen streaming from his throwing hand. But Menzies may have injured his hand even before striking the table. Just before his outburst, he was seen hunched over, and footage captured by a spectator shows Menzies placing his right hand over one of the pyrotechnics that go off at the end of a match. He left his hand on the firework for several seconds, holding it down until it appeared to be put out.
Menzies is now likely to face a fine from the Darts Regulation Authority (DRA), having swiftly issued an apology for his behaviour, citing personal issues, including his uncle's recent passing. 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.'
PDC chief executive Matt Porter said: 'I spoke with Cameron and his management before he left the venue, and he knows there is support available from the PDC and the PDPA. Any incident of this nature is reported to the Darts Regulation Authority for review but our main priority is the player’s health and wellbeing.'
It marks the second consecutive year that Menzies has crashed out in the opening round at Ally Pally. He was left in floods of tears during and after his loss to Leonard Gates last year.
