Cameron Menzies was in tears during the final stages of his shock World Championship defeat against Leonard Gates.
Gates, ranked 130th in the world, overcame Menzies 3-1 in their first round encounter.
The American displayed plenty of showmanship before a dart had even been thrown as he whipped out a full array of dance moves during his walk-on.
As for Menzies, he shared a heartwarming kiss with his partner and fellow darts star, Fallon Sherrock, on his way to the oche.
Gates’ antics evidently struck a chord with the crowd inside the Ally Pally, as chants of ‘USA’ echoed throughout the venue over the course of the match.
They also taunted Menzies with anti-Scotland chants and also jeered at him whenever he missed opportunities to win a leg or failed to land a treble.
Gates rode the wave of momentum generated by the crowd in a sensational first set in which he recorded checkouts of 138, 120 and 85 with a bullseye finish.
It looked like the American would race out to a 2-0 lead as the second set was poised at two legs apiece.
However, Menzies recovered to level the contest with a 45 checkout.
Unfortunately for Menzies, the tide – and the crowd – soon turned against him as his Ally Pally dream quickly turned to a nightmare.
Gates rattled off three-straight legs to take a 2-1 lead and move to one set away from victory.
Menzies showed plenty of heart to slow down Gates’ momentum as the fourth set went to a deciding fifth leg.
Unfortunately for the Scot, who is a plumber by trade, the wheels soon came off as the crowd jeered each and every missed attempt at a double or a treble.
It quickly became all too much for Menzies as cameras captured tears welling in his eyes whenever he stepped up to the oche.
Menzies’ partner Sherrock could only watch on as the Scot simply couldn’t hang with his rival.
Sweat was also seen pouring off the head of the 35-year-old, leaving his hair drenched.
Eventually Gates closed out the victory and hugged Menzies in a tight embrace, sharing some words of encouragement for his beaten rival.
A miserable evening for Menzies but glory for Gates who marches onto the second round, where he will face two-time Major winner Nathan Aspinall.
“It was it was very exhilarating. It’s a good feeling right now to move to the second round and play some more darts here in England,” Gates told talkSPORT after the game.
“Like I said when I was here two years ago. This is the best thing.
“If you don’t feed off that energy however, you feed off of it. I mean, you don’t need to come, you know. I mean that that’s that’s some love energy.”
Gates also revealed he gave Menzies a private show of support in the face of the boo boys at Ally Pally.
“I definitely picked up on it throughout the game and like I told him in the end, I just said use that energy. I told him I said, ‘you have a lot of darts left in you.’
“We played together in Vegas. So I know what he can do. You know when he’s feeling good and he’s had good having fun and have a good time.
“He can throw some great darts and I mean I hats off to him. You know Cameron Menzies is a great man a great opponent and I hope he keeps going.”
