If someone had Cameron Menzies booked for a plumbing job on Thursday, don’t expect him to show up.
Menzies, a plumber by day and darts star by night, enjoyed one of the finest hours of his career on Wednesday after he beat James Wade 10-9 in a nail-biter to progress into the Grand Slam quarter-finals.
The Scot looked the goods early and raced out to a 4-2 lead, only for Wade to come storm back and nip ahead 7-5.
Both men continued to trade legs to ultimately set up a grandstand finish at 9-9.
Despite the crowd at the Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton chanting, ‘Scotland get battered, everywhere they go,’ Menzies held his nerve.
The 35-year-old had a brief wobble when he missed two darts at tops to seal the win, but Wade was unable to punish Menzies for the mistake.
Menzies subsequently nailed tops at the third time of asking and fell to floor with his hands on his face before he jumped to his feet and roared in delight.
The Scot, who fought back tears of joy during his post-match interview, believes he has a guardian angel watching over him as luck is falling his way ‘for the first time in my life’.
“I don’t know how to explain that,” Menzies told Sky Sports after his win.
“I won the first five legs. I fumbled a bit. I don’t know what happened. I’ve never hoped for a dart so much in my life. That wasn’t confidence, I was just praying to things I didn’t know existed. It was just hope. I am ecstatic.
“I don’t deal with this very well. Getting involved with the crowd is my mentality thing. I’m a nervous wreck up here. My anxiety goes through the roof. The crowd just calms me. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be here.
“I’m lucky, I don’t think I’ve played well yet. I think I’m carrying a bit of luck for the first time in my life. Someone is looking over me at the moment.
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“I might have to phone in sick tomorrow.”
Luckily for Menzies, his employers have been rather receptive to his darts career as the Scot revealed he had reduced his working week from five days to three.
“I asked the office and they were happy to do it – I just had to go to HR,” Menzies said after his second-round win at the Grand Slam.
“They’ve been massively helpful with me.”
Menzies is also known for his high-profile relationship with fellow darts star Fallon Sherrock.
Sherrock shot to notoriety in 2019 when she became the first woman to win a match at the PDC World Championships after beating Ted Evetts in the first round.
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The Milton Keynes native followed that up by beating Mensur Suljovic in the second round before eventually falling to Chris Dobey.
There is a chance Menzies and Sherrock face off each other at this year’s World Championships should they be drawn together in the first round.
But before that hypothetical scenario comes to fruition, Menzies has a Grand Slam quarter final clash against Mickey Mansell to worry about.
