Cameron Menzies has announced he’s quitting his day job as a plumber to pursue his passion for darts on a full-time basis, after securing a second PDC ranking title. The Scotsman emerged victorious against compatriot Peter Wright with an 8-3 win in the final of Players Championship 11 in Leicester.
Juggling between his day job and darts, the 35-year-old has now decided to dedicate himself entirely to the sport after a spell of impressive performances. After the final Menzies expressed his excitement: “I’m leaving my job soon to take up darts full-time. It is genuinely crazy, my darts career is kicking off, it’s my dream.
“I’m not as good as I’d like to be yet, but I’m heading in the right direction. This means a lot to me because it proves the title I won last year wasn’t by luck. I know how well I’ve been playing and I wouldn’t have been disheartened if I hadn’t won another title because my two previous years on tour have been nowhere near this standard.
“That’s two finals, two wins and a couple of semis. I don’t know what to say because I thought the first one was lucky to win. To win two, I’m buzzing. It wasn’t luck, if that makes sense.”
His path to glory at the tournament included victories over Viktor Tingstrom, Connor Scutt, Steve Lennon, Max Hopp, Matthew Dennant, and Niels Zonneveld, before defeating Snakebite, who had previously beaten Gary Anderson in the semi-final.
He later joked on X (formerly known as Twitter), writing: “Fat boy fluked another.”
Menzies was told to give himself some credit by a fan, before replying: “Am just bamming chuffed to bits to prove my first one wasn’t luck.”
His journey to the match nearly turned disastrous due to a motorway accident, as he recounted: “I thought I was going to be late. I had to phone the PDC because you have a time limit. I had to say I might be 10 or 20 minutes late.
“There was a bad crash on the M1. I really hope they are okay because clearly it was bad. It happened on the southbound, but they shut the northbound as well. It was an air ambulance and stuff. I was stuck there for two hours.”
In a poignant twist of fate, Menzies triumph over Wright held personal significance. He shared: “Peter played darts with my dad. Even before I was in the PDC at the Grand Slam, he took me side and practised finishes with me.
“He played counties with my dad. Honestly Peter has been brilliant with me over the past couple of years. The respect I’ve got for him.
“I’m fortunate to have Scottish icons like Gary [Anderson] and Peter mentoring me. And it’s not just them—Hendo [John Henderson] and Robert Thornton, who aren’t on the tour, they all offer their support.”
This article first appeared on the Daily Record.
