World Darts Championship: Menzies Meltdown overshadows promising first round

As many of you probably already know, the festive season is home to international darts’ most important competition. This year’s World Darts Championship is the biggest in history, with 128 players competing for a prize pot of £5 million, one fifth of which goes to the winner. All eyes at the start of the tournament were on Luke Littler as he tries to defend his title, but with round 1 not even completed, another story has dominated the headlines.

On 15 December, Cameron Menzies played Charlie Manby in a first round game that went right down to the wire, with Manby clinching victory via his seventh match dart.

Throughout the game it was clear to see Menzies was getting very passionate. This passion came out in an unfortunate way when Manby hit the winning double. Menzies reacted by hitting the underside of the table multiple times and putting his hand over the pyrotechnics whilst they were set off. Menzies could then be seen wiping blood from his knuckles before apologising to the crowd and walking off stage.

Darts fans and pundits around the world claim Menzies could be fined and potentially receive a ban from the sport

This is not the first time that Menzies has crashed out over a darts game. Last year in the World Darts Championship, when Menzies lost to Leonard Gates, he could be seen wiping tears from his face. It was later announced that his father had been hospitalised prior to the match, explaining Menzies emotions and disappointment.

To explain the reaction to his loss this year, Menzies later revealed in a statement to Sky Sports that his uncle had passed away and had he won his game, the second round match would have been on the same day as his uncle’s funeral.

Darts fans and pundits around the world claim Menzies could be fined and potentially receive a ban from the sport, but this seems a harsh punishment for a player who is clearly struggling mentally. This is a view shared by the Professional Darts Corporation’s (PDC) Chief Executive, Matt Porter, who highlighted the support available from the PDC and the PDPA (Professional Darts Players Association).

Big name stars like Luke Littler and Luke Humphries have not failed to disappoint so far

Menzies’ incident has unfortunately overshadowed what has otherwise been a rather exciting event. Top players like 12th seed Ross Smith have been knocked out of the competition, and so has Niko Springer, a dark horse for many to win the whole thing. Meanwhile, other games have gone the distance to tie-breaker sets, most notably the Alan Soutar – Teemu Harju game, where Soutar missed 15 match darts before eventually hitting the winning double in a sudden death shootout.

Big name stars like Luke Littler and Luke Humphries have not failed to disappoint so far. Littler averaged 101.5 in his 3-0 win against Darius Labanauskas, with 10 180s hit between the pair.

Hopefully Menzies will be able to access the help that he needs and maybe take a break from the sport. For millions of darts fans around the globe, the tournament continues, with a few mouth-watering round 2 ties already being set up, including Luke Humphries vs the legendary Paul Lim.