"My dad my hero" - Reasons for Cameron Menzies' emotions on full display in Gates defeat come to light with father hospitalised

The ending of Leonard Gates' victory over Cameron Menzies on Monday night at the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship was an incredibly tough watch for darts lovers as a visibly distraught Menzies threw his final few arrows in the midst of a teary breakdown.

It seems, the reasoning behind Menzies emotions went much further than the fact his Ally Pally experience for this year was coming to an end after one match. Following the match, Menzies took to his official X account to post a now-deleted photo showing him alongside his hospitalised father, captioned: "I didn't wanna post this man... my dad my hero."

Given everything that must have going on in the mind of the Scot, it's somewhat unsurprising Menzies didn't reach his best level against Gates. Afterwards, former Lakeside champion and key figure in the PDPA Glen Durrent addressed the sad scenes at the end of the match on Sky Sports.

"On the floor, Cammy has been the best player in the room. He's the one that has stood out. It feels like it is a different game when you go on stage," said Duzza, before the Menzies post on X came to light. "It is just not happening for him. He is full of emotion. When you look at his preparation, he will have to work out if he is to find a solution about why he doesn't play on the stage as he does on the floor. He's extremely talented. But at the end, it was a little worrying, I didn't know if he was getting upset, if the heat was getting to him. It was a pretty bizarre ending."

For Gates meanwhile, the prospect of Nathan Aspinall now awaits the American in round 2 at the World Darts Championship.