Cameron Menzies picked up the penultimate Players Championship event before the World Matchplay arrives in Blackpool. Now a three-time PDC tournament winner, Menzies all but secured his place at the Winter Gardens after securing his first Pro Tour event of the year at the Mattioli Arena.
Defeating Cristo Reyes in the final 8-5, Menzies picked up a much needed boost that may propel him into form before the showpiece event in mid-July.Enroute to the final, the Glaswegian didn’t face a barrage of competition, cruising to two 6-0 victories in his first three games as well as recording a 100+ average in his first.
His biggest test came in the final, where Menzies came up against a spirited fight from Reyes, who became just the third Spaniard to reach the final of a PDC Event. ‘Cammy’ needed two 10 dart legs on his way to picking up the title and got over the line with a 95 average.
For Reyes, a loss in the final represents tremendous progress, once again proving his return to the circuit post-hiatus is not to be tucked under the radar.
Key strides were made by the pack chasing Blackpool qualification, particularly by the likes of Menzies, but also from Kim Huybrechts who kept on the coattails of Dave Chisnall by reaching the last 16.
Chizzy himself made a semi-final appearance which boosted his chances of reaching the Winter Gardens, sitting just £500 behind Daryl Gurney. However, in losing to Menzies, it becomes clear that a first round loss in Event 24 will represent the end of his chase.
Elsewhere in the draw, there were impressive runs for those with less to play for but important ranking money was accrued, nonetheless. The most notable of these was a deep run from David Sharp, who reached a maiden PDC semi-final, before losing out to runner-up Reyes.
Joe Cullen produced perfection in his second round match against Jack Tweddell pinning the perfect leg (180, 180, 141) but eventually faltered 6-3. The Rockstar had an average 10 points the better of Tweddell, however this wasn’t enough to get past the ADC Global Champion.
Now, with one Players Championship event remaining before the Euro Tour rolls into Leverkusen on the weekend, players still holding onto hopes of Matchplay Qualification are faced with a week of tension and nerves.
2026 PDC Players Championship 24 Darts
QUARTER-FINALS
Cristo Reyes 6-4 Daniel Ayres
David Sharp 6-4 Tom Sykes
Cameron Menzies 6-2 Charlie Manby
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Christian Kist
SEMI-FINALS
Cristo Reyes 7-3 David Sharp
Cameron Menzies 7-5 Dave Chisnall
FINAL
Cameron Menzies 8-5 Cristo Reyes
Images: PDC Europe
