Cameron Menzies has set his sights on joining Scotland’s greats after quitting his day job to move into the professional ranks alongside his partner Fallon Sherrock.
Known for his sometimes over-exuberant celebrations, the 35-year-old has dreams of joining Scottish greats Jocky Wilson, Gary Anderson and Peter Wright in the winners’ circle.
Menzies made audiences aware of his precocious talent by upsetting James Wade en route to the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts in November.
An emotional Menzies got the better of James Wade at the Grand Slam of Darts in a dramatic ending…
He has since gone from strength to strength, claiming his second Players Championship title in April just over five months on from his maiden ProTour title success.
Menzies, who has also finished as runner-up in two Players Championship event finals this year, is well on course to make his World Matchplay debut in Blackpool later this summer.
“I gave the van back a couple of weeks ago,” Menzies told Sky Sports. “I’ve been quite busy and I was only working one day here and there and it just kind of got to the point where I had to make a decision. I think I’ve made the best choice!
“When I won the last ProTour, I kind of just went, ‘I think that’s me done’. I did a full shift on the Thursday and basically finished up there. I was doing the darts, travelling, and trying to squeeze in a job. I felt this is the best chance for me to do it and so there’s no pressure this year because I’m in a lot of the big tournaments, so next year is when I’ll be more used to not working, but if it doesn’t work out I’m sure I can go back to plumbing.”
Inspirational Sherrock
Watch Fallon Sherrock become the first female to hit a televised nine-darter!
Menzies has credited the ‘Queen of the Palace’ with vastly improving his game.
Darting trailblazer Sherrock famously became the first female to beat a man at the World Championship in 2020 where she reached the third round.
Menzies and Sherrock have been dating since 2021, with their first date taking place at a KFC restaurant.
“She’s been a massive help,” said Menzies. “As soon as we started kind of dating my darts did take an extra step up because we used to practise a lot especially at first when I stayed in Scotland, and we used to do Zoom calls. Some nights we’d play for two or three hours. Quite often she batters me so it’s quite good for me to practise against her because she’s a very good player and it has obviously helped my game.”
Sherrock says she is happy to be inspiring a generation of female players to play darts
Can Menzies contain his excitement on stage?
Bizarre moment Menzies collapses to floor after HUGE error… but wins anyway! Video courtesy of PDC
Commentator Chris Murphy, speaking on the Love The Darts podcast, believes Menzies must work on containing his emotions on stage.
Murphy said: “He’s a very, very talented darts player. I think everyone has known that for a long time. It’s been about the mental side for him whether he can contain himself. We will see him get plenty of wins on the ProTour. I think he will pick off ProTour titles.
“It’s just when he gets involved emotionally on the big stage as to whether he can see it through at the end of winning a European Tour title for example or an even bigger tournament and that would be the only question mark, but maybe not having to go to work and commit all his time to that might give him the space to address that side of things and his partner is probably one of the most mentally strong players in darts – Fallon Sherrock – so it’s not a bad practice partner.”
Menzies is seeking psychological help in order to contain his anxiety on stage
Menzies, who hails from the remote Scottish town of Muirkirk in east Ayrshire, suffered an early exit at Alexandra Palace this year with his mind on other things after his father, Ricky, underwent triple heart bypass surgery.
With dad now on the mend, Menzies has turned his attention to breaking into the darting elite but knows he must overcome his anxiety issues first. A problem he has sought to address with the help of a sports psychologist.
“I’ve been seeking professional help,” said the world No 36. “I aim to keep it more chilled because when you’re bad you get irritated and maybe too emotional and too rash with it. That’s what I’ve been trying to work on because I’ll happily admit that it’s not really my strong point on the mental side of it but that’s something that I’m seeking some advice on.
“The psychologist is an ex-policeman from Scotland. He knows his stuff and he sends me courses to read about anxiety. There’s a lot of stuff just feels kind of bang on to what I feel. It says when you start getting annoyed just take an extra couple of seconds take a deep breath and try and refocus, reset the brain, because when you’re in a bad place the darts are going to go nowhere near where you want them so just try and reset and refocus.”
Premier League ambitions
Peter Wright and Gary Anderson (right) are legends of Scottish darts
Menzies has high hopes of breaking into the top 16 in the world and hopefully experiencing the frenzy of Premier League darts in the future.
World No 1 Luke Humphries has previously said he had been left “emotionless” from too many games, while there is a concern players could suffer burnout with the strains of travelling, playing in competitions, exhibitions, and sponsorship appearances.
“I don’t think I’d get burnout because I’m quite lucky, I get a couple of days off in between while some of these guys are doing Premier League and then straight to Euro Tours,” said the Scot. “Those guys I can understand but at the same time as well they’re obviously doing something right to get this kind of feeling so hopefully one day I’ll experience it.
“I wouldn’t mind that but that’s a big ask that because you just look at the standard of the Premier League these days – it’s frightening and how these guys do it on a consistent basis is obviously why they deserve to be there, but that’s a little dream kind of thing. Who wouldn’t want to play every Thursday in these venues, so why not?”
The Scot narrowly lost out to Mickey Mansell in the Grand Slam of Darts quarter-finals – check out his best reactions!
Menzies has taken positives from his run in Wolverhampton in November, which came to an end at the hands of Mickey Mansell, and feels his best is yet to come with time to hit the practice board without the worry of unclogging drains.
“I would like to be like a top-16 player doing well in the bigger tournaments because I feel like that’s something that I’ve not done yet,” he added. “I’m doing it on the floor and I’m hoping to maybe to push on to the bigger stages with more experience and get a couple of good runs deep in the tournaments and push on up the rankings.”
Where does the Premier League head next?
The Premier League continues at the Utilita Arena, Sheffield on Thursday May 22 as Michael van Gerwen and Nathan Aspinall clash in a crunch quarter-final encounter with MVG needing to win his first night since triumphing in Birmingham last year. Watch Night 16 of Premier League Darts, in Sheffield, live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Action from 7pm – stream with NOW.
Sky Sports will once again be the home of the Premier League in 2025, with every night exclusively live along with the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and more! Stream darts and more top sport with NOW
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