After losing 3-2 to Charlie Manby in the first round of the World Darts Championship, Cameron Menzies punched a table in frustration and was taken to hospital, but later apologized.
Menzies led twice in the match, going 2-1 up in the first set, but the 20-year-old from Huddersfield fought back to take it to the deciding set, before both players missed a few darts with doubles before finally pinning him with a double four.
When Munby went out to celebrate, Menzies could not hide his frustration and punched the underside of the water table three times, causing the water bottle to fall out.
Referee Kirk Bevins went to Menzies and asked him to stop, but the 26th seed continued to apologize to the crowd with his hands raised, visibly upset as he congratulated his opponent.
The incident caused blood to spurt from his knuckles, which he wiped from his face before leaving the stage.
Sky Sports commentator Glen Durant said after the game: “It wasn’t the ending we all wanted to see.”
“Cameron Menzies will forever regret that this was not a good watch.”
It is the second year in a row that Menzies has been eliminated in the first round at Alexandra Palace. Last December, he broke down in tears during and after his exit from Leonard Gates.
Darts’ governing body PDC said there was no immediate announcement of a potential fine or disciplinary action against Menzies.
PDC CEO Matt Porter said in a statement: “I spoke to Cameron and his management team before leaving the venue and he knows he has the support of the PDC and PDPA (Professional Darts Players Association).”
“While incidents of this nature are reported to the Darts Regulatory Authority for investigation, our first priority is the health and wellbeing of our players.”
Menzies: The reaction wasn’t right.
Shortly after the incident, Menzies issued a statement apologizing for his actions.
“First of all, I would like to apologize for what happened,” Menzies said. “I am sorry for reacting like this.
“I don’t want to make excuses, but I’ve been thinking about a lot of things lately, and I think I ended up taking it too far.
“My Uncle Gary passed away recently and it wasn’t an easy time for me. I met him four days before he passed away and you could tell by the look on his face that you could tell he really cared about me. He treated me like a son.”
“If I had won the match against Charlie, my second match would have been on the day of Gary’s funeral and I haven’t forgotten about that these past few days.
“Once again, that doesn’t excuse what I did on stage. It was wrong and I don’t want it to take anything away from Charlie. He played well and deserved the win.”
“I don’t want people to see me that way. Sure, I can get emotional sometimes, but I didn’t want to be like that and it wasn’t right.”
Mardle: Menzies must control his anger.
Wayne Mardle hopes Menzies cleans up his act in the future and gets the support he needs going forward.
“The frustration boiling over, the anger, the pain of losing, but you have to control that,” Mardle said.
“That’s what it means to be on the right path. And he didn’t do it – he let himself down.
“I am sure he will receive the punishment he deserves from the darts regulator, but I hope the Professional Darts Players Association will support him.
“That doesn’t happen everywhere, let alone on the biggest stage. I hope he cleans up his act and moves on.”
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