Cameron Menzies punched the water table

Darts results: Cameron Menzies apologies for punching a table after defeat to Charlie Manby at the PDC World Championship

By Sporting Life

Darts

Mon December 15, 2025 · 3h ago

Cameron Menzies apologised for repeatedly punching the water table after he suffered a first-round exit to rising star Charlie Manby at the PDC World Championship.

As 20-year-old Manby celebrated a memorable 3-2 victory on his Ally Pally debut, the Scotsman showed his frustration by punching the underside of the table three times, causing a bad cut to his hand that needed a hospital visit.

"First of all, I would like to apologise for what happened," said Menzies. "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.

"It has not been an easy time for me with my uncle Gary passing away recently. I saw him four days before he died and he gave a look which told he much he thought of me. He treated me like a son.

"Had I won the game against Charlie, my second match would have been on the day of Gary's funeral and that has not been lost on me in recent days.

"Let me say again, that's no excuse for what I did on the stage. It was the wrong thing to do and I don't want it to take anything away from Charlie. He played well and deserved his win.

"This is not how I would like people to view me. Yes I can get emotional at times, but not like that and that wasn't right."

The match was a thriller, with Manby battling back from 1-0 and 2-1 down to take advantage of Menzies missing 31 darts at double.

Manby said: "It was a good feeling and getting settled on a stage where I've never played before. I'm glad the Shanghai finish went in.

"This is 100% the greatest thing I have ever done in darts."

Meanwhile, Peter Wright opened his bid for a third world title with a straight-sets success against Noa-Lynn van Leuven.

Snakebite was superb on his finishing, pinning nine of his 16 attempts at double to confirm his progress.

Brendan Dolan and Mensur Suljovic also moved through to round two after 3-1 victories against Tavis Dudeney and David Cameron respectively.

Two-time quarter-finalist Dolan landed a sensational 170 checkout on his way to setting up a showdown against Joe Cullen, while Suljovic averaged almost 95 to win through a competitive affair against Canadian veteran Cameron.

In the evening, Dirk van Duijvenbode rallied from 2-1 down to beat Andy Baetens 3-2.

Both he and Jonny Clayton were plagued by missed doubles, the latter still good enough to beat Adam Lipscombe 3-1 though knowing surely that greater ruthlessness would be required deeper in the tournament.