BRENDAN DOLAN WON his opening match at the World Darts Championship on Monday, defeating English qualifier Tavis Dudeney by three sets to one on his Ally Pally return.
Belcoo native Dolan defied nine 180s from debutant Dudeney to advance to the third round.
Dolan, ranked 39th in the world, recovered from a shaky opening leg to win the first two sets, completing a 170 checkout to clinch the second.
DOLAN DEFEATS DUDENEY!
Brendan Dolan is through to Round Two!
The two-time quarter-finalist defeats debutant Tavis Dudeney in an entertaining affair!
Dudeney, 21, rebounded to win the third set before the 52-year-old Dolan closed out the match in the fourth, taking it by three legs to two.
In the afternoon’s second game, 20-year-old Charlie Manby defeated Cameron Menzies 3-2.
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When Manby went off to celebrate, Menzies was unable to hide his frustration on the stage and went on to punch the underside of the table three times, causing the water bottles to fall off which was greeted with boos from the crowd.
Menzies was visibly upset while congratulating his opponent and went on to hold his hands up and apologise to the crowd before walking off stage.
It is the second time in as many years that Menzies has been knocked out of the first round at Alexandra Palace after he broke down in his tears during and following his exit to Leonard Gates last December.
Sky Sports commentator Glen Durrant believed Menzies would regret his decision to punch the table for the rest of his life.
He said: “It wasn’t the ending we all want to see. For Cameron Menzies, I think he will regret that for the rest of his life, it wasn’t a good watch.”
Menzies, who was left with a bloodied hand after the incident, later apologised for his “emotional” reaction.
“First of all, I would like to apologise for what happened. I am sorry that I reacted in the manner that I did,” Menzies said in a statement issued to Sky Sports.
“It’s not an excuse, but I have had a lot of things on my mind recently and I suppose it all just became too much at the end.
“It has not been an easy time for me with my uncle Gary passing away recently. I saw him four days before he died and he gave me a look which told me how much he thought of me.
“Had I won the game against Charlie, my second match would have been on the day of Gary’s funeral and that hasn’t been lost on me.
“Let me say again, that’s no excuse for what I did on the stage. It was the wrong thing to do and I don’t want it to take anything away from Charlie. He played well.
“This is not how I would like people to view me. Yes, I can get emotional at times, but not like that and that wasn’t right.”
Elsewhere in the afternoon session, two-time champion Peter Wright made it through to the second round with a straight-set win vs Noa-Lynn van Leuven.
Mensur Suljovic also booked his spot in the next round after defeating David Cameron 3-1.
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Brendan Dolan wins thrilling World Darts opener
LAST UPDATE | 15 Dec 2025
BRENDAN DOLAN WON his opening match at the World Darts Championship on Monday, defeating English qualifier Tavis Dudeney by three sets to one on his Ally Pally return.
Belcoo native Dolan defied nine 180s from debutant Dudeney to advance to the third round.
Dolan, ranked 39th in the world, recovered from a shaky opening leg to win the first two sets, completing a 170 checkout to clinch the second.
Dudeney, 21, rebounded to win the third set before the 52-year-old Dolan closed out the match in the fourth, taking it by three legs to two.
In the afternoon’s second game, 20-year-old Charlie Manby defeated Cameron Menzies 3-2.
When Manby went off to celebrate, Menzies was unable to hide his frustration on the stage and went on to punch the underside of the table three times, causing the water bottles to fall off which was greeted with boos from the crowd.
Menzies was visibly upset while congratulating his opponent and went on to hold his hands up and apologise to the crowd before walking off stage.
It is the second time in as many years that Menzies has been knocked out of the first round at Alexandra Palace after he broke down in his tears during and following his exit to Leonard Gates last December.
Sky Sports commentator Glen Durrant believed Menzies would regret his decision to punch the table for the rest of his life.
He said: “It wasn’t the ending we all want to see. For Cameron Menzies, I think he will regret that for the rest of his life, it wasn’t a good watch.”
Menzies, who was left with a bloodied hand after the incident, later apologised for his “emotional” reaction.
“First of all, I would like to apologise for what happened. I am sorry that I reacted in the manner that I did,” Menzies said in a statement issued to Sky Sports.
“It’s not an excuse, but I have had a lot of things on my mind recently and I suppose it all just became too much at the end.
“It has not been an easy time for me with my uncle Gary passing away recently. I saw him four days before he died and he gave me a look which told me how much he thought of me.
“Had I won the game against Charlie, my second match would have been on the day of Gary’s funeral and that hasn’t been lost on me.
“Let me say again, that’s no excuse for what I did on the stage. It was the wrong thing to do and I don’t want it to take anything away from Charlie. He played well.
“This is not how I would like people to view me. Yes, I can get emotional at times, but not like that and that wasn’t right.”
Elsewhere in the afternoon session, two-time champion Peter Wright made it through to the second round with a straight-set win vs Noa-Lynn van Leuven.
Mensur Suljovic also booked his spot in the next round after defeating David Cameron 3-1.
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World Darts Championship