Cameron Menzies targets life-changing World Darts Championship that could help clinch his ultimate ambition

Cameron Menzies hopes the 2025 World Darts Championship can take him another step closer towards picking up the arrows full-time.

The Scottish darts star is coming off a strong 2024 and built further confidence from a run to the last eight at the Grand Slam. Menzies has not hidden his difficulties with handling the anxiety and stresses that come with playing in the biggest events, but he’s built of sterner stuff than he was this time last year.

Speaking to Glasgow World ahead of the tournament beginning, Menzies said: “It's just try and enjoy it. It's easier said than done. Two days before the games and stuff I'm fine, but at the World's it's a lot different. I'm stressed and overthinking, because we all want to do well, kind of thing.

“You can make a career, if you do a good run at the World's. You can obviously step up in the World's and you get more sponsors, more exhibitions and stuff. It's the biggest tournament of the year and it's the one we all want to do well in.

“This year's been my best season. I was up in Scotland to see my family and I reached out to a mental sports psychologist. I went through things with him. He's got a little app that does courses and stuff. A lot of times it's just trying to maintain your stress levels and anxiety levels. That's what he says. That's why I'm up and down.

“It's just overthinking, so he's just trying to basically dumb it down. He's told me a lot of things to try and do. So hopefully, I've only done it for two weeks, but hopefully we can see progress in that and I am a bit more calmer on the stage.”

Menzies still works as a plumber when he is away from darts but after a stellar 12 months, there’s hope that a trip to the iconic Ally Pally could be one final push to ditching the tools for good. He said: “I spoke with my supervisor. I was off for the last two weeks, because my dad's been in hospital so I was up seeing him.

“I think when the darts season kicks off next year, I think the tools will be put by. The Grand Slam is part of it, winning a Pro Tour title is part of it as well and then, if you do well in this tournament, that would definitely be it. January, February, we are quite quiet on the tour, so I'd like to work then. But then there's more pro tours next year there's a lot more in Germany and Holland, so there's a lot more travelling involved for us. So I’d taking a lot more time off, and basically we're hardly there, so we'll get to a point where I'll just be like, ‘right, okay, I just can’t do both.’

“That was always what I wanted. I wanted to play football when I was younger, but that didn't happen. Then the darts kind of thing, I said I'd like to go pro, and I wanted to be like Jonny Clayton and do as much as I can before I give the work, but it's going to get to that point where I'll struggle to do both.”

Menzies faces his first game on Monday against Leonard Gates for a chance to meet Nathan Aspinall, who featured in the 2024 Premier League. He added: “I've not even looked by the first two games, because obviously I've got a hard game in Leonard Gates, and if I pass that I play Nathan, I've not even looked that far ahead.

“I know that sounds really stupid, but I just want to play game by game, because obviously it's two hard games anyway if I get that far. I know how good Leonard Gates is, I've played him once before and he beat me, so I know that is a tricky game. I'll just take these games as it comes, because there's no point looking too far ahead, because it might not happen.”