Cameron Menzies has opened up about the turbulent aftermath of an outburst at Alexandra Palace that left him with a severe hand injury, requiring surgery and 22 stitches. The Scottish darter, now his country's number two, detailed the incident where he punched a table in frustration, not realizing a metal flight underneath sliced his hand open. "It was what it was. I made a mistake," Menzies said in an interview with Viaplay. "I was stupid and punched the table... I had to wear a big bandage—like a boxing glove—for four weeks. It wasn't great, but it's a lesson learned." He added that doctors told him the nerves "won't come back perfectly, but it should improve enough," leaving him with numbness and pins and needles in his fingers, especially in the cold.
To manage the physical and mental fallout, Menzies has adopted a rigorous new routine. On doctor's orders to lose weight due to blood pressure, he now hits the gym two or three times a week. Mentally, he's turned to hypnotherapy and relaxation tracks to stay calmer, acknowledging he's "quite an anxious person" who snapped under pressure. "I was going through a lot at the time and maybe wanted to win too much," he explained. Off the oche, he's in a new relationship with someone close to home who doesn't play darts, which he sees as a positive escape. Professionally, he quit his plumbing job last year to focus fully on darts, noting the shift brings "a different kind of pressure" as it now pays his bills.
Sportingly, Menzies faced a difficult start to the season after the injury kept him out for six weeks, affecting his rhythm and finger feeling. He's since ramped up practice, putting in "more than ever" hours to compensate, including a run in the Poland Darts Open that helped rebuild momentum. Looking ahead, he dreams of a World Cup of Darts call-up for Scotland, hoping to play alongside Gary Anderson, though Anderson has warned him to "behave" if they team up. Menzies also noted Peter Wright is "still fighting for his place" after beating him at the UK Open. Reflecting on his plumbing days, he shared a humorous anecdote about a boss getting hit in the face with sewage during a job in Glasgow, which ended with the job cancelled and them going home.
