By the time Cameron Menzies finally left the arena on Monday, the blood gushing from the gash on his right hand had trickled down his wrist, part of his forearm and — somehow — up to his face. Smeared in crimson and regret, and already mouthing sheepish apologies to the crowd, he disappeared down the steps, pursued by a stern-looking Matt Porter, the chief executive of Professional Darts Corp (PDC).
The physical scars from Menzies’ encounter with the Alexandra Palace drinks table after his 3-2 defeat against Charlie Manby at the Darts World Championship would be gone within a few weeks. Most probably there would be a fine of some sort, but what about the rest?
Man loses game of darts, punches table three times in fury, goes to hospital, repents at leisure: simple cause and effect. Of course that is not, and never is, the whole story.
Photo: Reuters
In a way the tale is a kind of parable for elite darts itself, a pub game elevated to the level of a prizefight, even — occasionally — a blood sport.
Menzies threw uppercuts at the table after losing in the thrilling first-round match, sending a bottle and other items to the floor. After being invited to leave the stage by the scorers, the Scot raised his hands in apparent apology to jeering fans. He was treated by medics on site.
Menzies later said he had been preoccupied by the death of his uncle and the upcoming funeral.
Photo: Reuters
“I would like to apologize for what happened. I’m sorry that I reacted in the manner that I did,” he said in a statement. “It’s not an excuse, but I have had a lot of things on my mind and I suppose it all just became too much at the end.”
Porter spoke to Menzies and his management team before the player left the venue and said there was support available from the organization and the players’ union.
“For Cameron Menzies, I think he will regret that for the rest of his life,” Sky Sports commentator Glen Durrant said. “It wasn’t a good watch.”
Twelve months ago, Menzies was on the same stage, playing his first-round game against Leonard Gates of the US. The crowd did not need an excuse to goad him, but in the likable Texan they had one anyway.
As Gates edged into the lead, boisterous support for the underdog spilled into something a little nastier. Menzies was jeered every time he missed a double. Before long they were jeering the missed doubles and missed singles, too.
A skittish and anxious player even at the best of times, Menzies started to choke up. From a distance, he appeared to be displaying the classic signs of a panic attack.
He lost 3-1, left the stage in tears, pursued by a chorus of “Scotland get battered, everywhere they go.”
Unbeknownst to everyone, his father was in hospital recovering from a triple heart bypass. Menzies would later describe it as one of the darkest times of his life.
Of course pantomime villains have been part of the Palace liturgy since way back, but Menzies is nobody’s idea of a hard-bitten, shit-talking heel. He is a wry, funny ex-plumber who wears his heart on his sleeve.
So why does the Ally Pally crowd take such pleasure in tearing him apart? Because they know he can be got.
If you have ever wanted to influence the outcome of a darts game, the world No. 26 gives maximum bang for the buck. He suffers. He miscounts. He misses.
If his ex-partner Fallon Sherrock was Queen of the Palace, Menzies is more akin to its whipping boy.
He will be back next year, and so will the crowds, and he knows it will be 10 times worse, and he knows the PDC will do nothing.
That is the pact, the dark side of darts’ golden age. Take a man with a history of mental health problems, throw him on stage in front of people who have seen him bleed on television, chuck in some morning pints and a little petty English nationalism, and see what happens.
The good news is that Menzies is a good enough player to eventually conquer this stage. The bad news is that he will need to be.
Additional reporting by AP
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