Cameron Menzies produced one of the best performances of his career as he stunned Luke Humphries in the first round of the Betfred World Matchplay.
Menzies averaged 97.83 alongside three 180s and finished things off in tremendous fashion with a 170 checkout in a 10-7 victory.
The first seven legs of the contest went against the throw, but Menzies was first to hold and make it 5-3 to gain some breathing room in the contest.
The 37-year-old reeled off the next three legs to make it 8-3, but Humphries threatened a comeback as he got back to within a leg before Menzies held his nerve to finish things off with the ‘big fish’.
Menzies told Sky Sports: “No one gave me hope. I didn’t give myself hope, but I finally won a game at the Winter Gardens.
“Luke Humphries is a great guy, a great player. At 7-3 I was just trying not to think of that finishing line, but the nerves kicked in.
“To beat Humphries, I know he will be disappointed. He gave me a lot of stress at doubles, but that’s my biggest win.
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“I show a lot of emotion, and I hate that I do that. I’m trying to keep myself intact. I try to keep myself composed because I know he’s going to have a spell and batter me, and he had a little spell but lucky enough I had that lead.”
Gerwyn Price had to dig deep as he came from behind to earn an 11-9 victory over Martin Schindler.
Price was staring down the barrel of a first-round defeat at 8-5 down, but the ‘Iceman’ took four legs on the bounce to get his nose in front and finished the contest with a ton checkout to send him through.
He told Sky Sports: “It doesn’t usually happen. Without the crowd, I would have lost today. That was the worst I’ve played all season.
“It goes to show, throwing sheep about instead of darts, it doesn’t help. It was a tough one for me. I’ve got no confidence at the minute because I haven’t played a lot.”
Ross Smith averaged 100 and had seven 180s on his way to a 10-6 victory over Kevin Doets, who was somehow beaten with a 104 average himself.
In the last game of the night, Rob Cross was lethal on the outer circle as he earned a comprehensive 10-3 win over Danny Noppert, hitting over 50 per cent of his doubles on his way to the second round.
