Cameron Menzies has revealed he issued a personal apology to Charlie Manby after his furious outburst inside Ally Pally.
The Scotsman, 36, was left with a blood-soaked hand when he piled a series of punches into his drinks table after debutant Manby, 20, knocked him out of the World Darts Championship with a tense 3-2 win that went down to the wire.
Worryingly, Menzies also covered the on-stage pyrotechnics cannon with his hand while it was fizzing, before revealing that a recent family bereavement had taken an emotional toll on him.
His loss sent Manby, who has been a breakthrough star in the Youth Development Tour with a sensational 130.70 average, into the second round against Adam Sevada on Monday evening.
Ahead of that mouthwatering tie in north London, Menzies took to social media to share an update on the personal message he sent his Manby to apologise for his outburst.
He wrote: ‘Hi all. Wishing Charlie Manby all the best tonight in his match against Adam Sevada. I have spoken to Charlie personally and apologised to him for my actions.
‘He understood that I was caught up in my own moment of frustration and that it was nothing personal towards him, or his win. It was very important to speak to him about that, and I am grateful he never once thought I was directing anything at him.
‘A huge thank you to everyone who has reached out with messages of support – it really means a lot. My hand is on the mend. Sorry again for last week! Hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and New Year.’
The update from Menzies comes after his previous explanation about what made him lose his cool.
‘It has not been an easy time for me with my uncle Gary passing away recently,’ he said in a statement.
‘I saw him four days before he died and he gave a look which told me how much he thought of me. He treated me like a son.
‘Had I won the game against Charlie, my second match would have been on the day of Gary’s funeral and that has not been lost on me in recent days.
‘Let me say again, that’s no excuse for what I did on the stage. It was the wrong thing to do and I don’t want it to take anything away from Charlie. He played well and deserved his win. This is not how I would like people to view me.
‘Yes I can get emotional at times, but not like that and that wasn’t right.’
His ex-girlfriend, Fallon Sherrock, appeared to mock him just before she too was dumped out of the tournament in the first round.
‘The Queen of Alexandra Palace’ was seen approaching her own table and seemed to give it a sarcastic shake amid her defeat by Dave Chisnall – falling to a 3-0 loss.
The pair, who were widely seen as the sport’s power couple, split up in July this year.
