Cameron Menzies has apologised for angrily punching a drinks table after his five-set defeat by Charlie Manby in the first round of the PDC World Championship.
The 26th seed from Scotland hit the underside of the table three times before holding his hand up in apology to the Alexandra Palace crowd as he left the stage.
Menzies, 36, was pictured with blood pouring from a gash on his right hand.
He had led 1-0 and 2-1 in sets before highly rated English debutant Manby, 20, fought back and clinched victory with his seventh match dart.
In a statement released after the match, Menzies said: “First of all, I would like to apologise for what happened. 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 me a look which told me how much he thought of me.
“Had I won the game against Charlie, my second match would have been on the day of Gary’s funeral and that hasn’t been lost on me.
“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.
“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.”
Professional Darts Corporation chief executive Matt Porter said: “I spoke with Cameron and his management before he left the venue, and he knows there is support available from the PDC and the PDPA [Professional Darts Players Association].
“Any incident of this nature is reported to the Darts Regulation Authority for review, but our main priority is the player’s health and wellbeing.”
It is the second year running that Menzies has been knocked out in the first round, after he broke down in tears during and following his exit to Leonard Gates last December.
Menzies later revealed his father Ricky had been ill in hospital at the time.
