Cameron Menzies explained the heartbreaking reason for his emotional state during his World Darts Championship first round loss to Leonard Gates.
Menzies was beaten 3-1 at Alexandra Palace on Monday night and was overcome with emotion for the final two legs. When American Gates, who is 91 places higher in the rankings, hit the double seven to secure qualification to the second round, Menzies sobbed uncontrollably as he shared an embrace with his opponent.
The Scot struggled in front of an in incredibly boisterous Ally Pally crowd and only completed five out of 32 checkout attempts. There were even some worries that he might not be able to get through the game such was the anti-Scotland chants and jeers.
Menzies, the boyfriend of 'Queen of the Palace' Fallon Sherrock, is known for wearing his heart on his sleeve but after a difficult night, he took to X to inform fans that his dad Rick is in hospital.
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The 35-year-old shared a picture of the two in the ward with his dad in a hospital bed, with the caption: "I didn't wanna post this man... my dad is my hero."
The post was later deleted by Menzies, along with a tweet which read: "Thank u ally pally fans".
Menzies did not provide any further information on his father's condition but in another post, wrote: "Big rick" with three loveheart eyes emojis.
He has struggled to deal with the pressures which come under the lights in the past and so sought help with a sports psychologist to help with the mental side of darts.
"I reached out to a mental sports psychologist. I went through things with him. He's got a little app that does courses and stuff. A lot of times it's just trying to maintain your stress levels and anxiety levels. That's what he says. That's why I'm up and down," he explained to the Glasgow World.
"It's just overthinking, so he's just trying to basically dumb it down. He's told me a lot of things to try and do. So hopefully, I've only done it for two weeks, but hopefully we can see progress in that and I am a bit more calmer on the stage."
Gates celebrated his win with a trademark dance on stage and will now take on Nathan Aspinall in the second round.
However he shows his class and sportsmanship with comments about Menzies after his victory.
"I was definitely aware of it (his emotions)," Gates said.
"But at the same time, I want my opponent to play their best against me to see if I can play my best against them.
"I told him to use the energy of the crowd, keep coming and keep playing the best he can to grow the PDC.
"He can throw some great darts and I mean hats off to him. You know Cameron Menzies is a great man, a great opponent and I hope he keeps going."
Topics: Darts
Josh Lawless