Cameron Menzies’ remarkable week at the World Matchplay came to a sudden end on Wednesday night, as the Scot was forced to retire from his second-round tie against Ross Smith after just three legs due to illness.
Smith broke away in perfect style, hitting back to back maximums, though not in Littler style, as he broke Menzies’ throw in 11 darts. But he quickly found himself on the other end of a break himself, as Menzies fired back to make it 1-1. And ‘Cammy’ quickly backed that up as he took a 2-1 lead.
Though things more important than the darts took precedence after the third leg, as Menzies appeared to be in a significant amount of distress, and had to be supported off the stage, with Ross Smith among those quickly to his opponent’s aid.
Just two nights earlier, Menzies had produced the performance of his career, stunning world number two Luke Humphries 10-7 with a 170 checkout to seal victory, a result he described afterwards as one he would “take to his grave.”
For Smith, the win is hollow in the moment. Competitively, though, it does carry him into the quarter-finals, with a match-up against Gerwyn Price or Rob Cross on the cards.
Everyone at DartsWorld wishes Cameron a speedy recovery.
Images: PDC
