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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.<\/b><\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Menzies, 36, was pictured with blood pouring from a gash on his right hand.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
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].<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Menzies later revealed his father Ricky had been ill in hospital at the time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n