Players Championship 29 winner Cameron Menzies has revealed he thought he was suffering from a heart attack on the plane during a trip to Switzerland which forced him to seriously look at his lifestyle.
Menzies saw off Gian van Veen 8-4 in the final to claim his second ProTour title of 2026 on Tuesday.
Menzies continued his sparkling Players Championship form to claim a fourth PDC ranking title at Maassport Den Bosch, after an impressive string of seven straight wins.
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After capturing his second title of the year, the Scot, reflected on his medical episode in Blackpool when he was forced to withdraw from the tournament afterbeing taken ill during his second-round match against Ross Smith.
“Even before [the incident] happened, as you can see I’ve lost a bit of weight. Last year I was heading to Switzerland and I genuinely thought I was having a heart attack on the plane,” explained Menzies. “I went for scans because heart problems is something that runs in my family.
“They told me I needed to lose weight, but the thing with the Ross Smith match is that I went for tests after and they believe it was dehydration but it caused my blood pressure to go high because I was panicking. I’ve never had that before.”
Menzies: We’re not all athletes here!
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The 37-year-old World Cup semi-finalist continued: “I went for bloods for more serious issues like my heart. I went to Glasgow Jubilee hospital and I did 10 hours in there but it came back fine other than my blood pressure being a bit high, but I explained what happened in Blackpool and they believe it was dehydration. I hope it is because that’s me having to look after myself a bit more.
“I’ll go and have water and electrolytes after this but we’re not all athletes here, I get that! It’s long days. I’ve been here since 9.30 this morning. These are long days so you have to look after yourself. I’m getting older now so I need to look after myself.
“My breakfast today was porridge, so I’ve not eaten all day. I would usually go and get pizza but I need to try and be better.
“A lot of players go jogging or walking now. Darts is probably better than it’s ever been because all these young kids are coming through and they’re all fit athletes. Not the way we grew up in clubs and pubs. These guys are in youth systems. They’re catching up.”
Menzies averaged north of 101 in his opening match triumph over Nick Kenny, before denying Canada’s Jim Long an impressive comeback in a last-leg decider.
After dispatching Slovenian Benjamin Pratnemer 6-4, he then downed No 1 seed Wessel Nijman by the same scoreline.
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Menzies put out Jeffrey de Graaf 6-3 with another stellar average to reach the last four, where he bagged another victory over a Dutch star in the form of Kevin Doets to reach a third Players Championship final in his last five events.
He stormed into a 5-0 lead, denying Van Veen a dart at double in a fantastic opening burst, before the Dutchman reeled off three consecutive legs of his own.
Nevertheless, the Scot held his nerve, winning three of the next four legs to complete victory and secure the £15,000 top prize in the Netherlands.
“I’m grateful to be in this position and it’s not like I take it for granted or anything but I would like to finish the year on a high. I’m in the Worlds and maybe the Grand Slam so I’m in a very fortunate position,” said Menzies.
The PDC ProTour season continues with Players Championship 30 on Wednesday, as the race to qualify for the 2026 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals intensifies.
2026 Players Championship 29
Tuesday September 22
Maassport Den Bosch, Den Bosch
Last 16
Cameron Menzies 6-4 Wessel Nijman
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-4 Danny Noppert
Kevin Doets 6-5 Cristo Reyes
Jermaine Wattimena 6-3 Callan Rydz
Oskar Lukasiak 6-4 Dave Chisnall
William O’Connor 6-4 Cor Dekker
Chris Dobey 6-3 Josh Rock
Gian van Veen 6-5 Nathan Apsinall
Quarter-Finals
Cameron Menzies 6-3 Jeffrey de Graaf
Kevin Doets 6-2 Jermaine Wattimena
William O’Connor 6-3 Oskar Lukasiak
Gian van Veen 6-5 Chris Dobey
Semi-Finals
Cameron Menzies 7-5 Kevin Doets
Gian van Veen 7-5 William O’Connor
Final
Cameron Menzies 8-4 Gian van Veen
Nine-Darters
Cristo Reyes hit a nine-darter in his round one win against Ian White
Max Hopp also struck the perfect leg in his round two win over Tom Bissell
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