Peter Manley
British darts player

Peter Manley

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British darts player
Gender:
Male
Work field:
Birth:
7 March 1962
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Introduction Darting career Crowd popularity Controversy Outside of darts World Championship Results Career finals Performance timeline
The details
Biography

Introduction

Peter David Manley (born 7 March 1962 in Cheam, London Borough of Sutton) is a former professional darts player who used to play in the Professional Darts Corporation.
He was named One Dart by commentator Tony Green after hitting the winning double on numerous occasions with his first dart during his first televised appearance at the 1995 Unipart European Masters, where he eventually lost in the final to Mike Gregory.
The nickname subsequently proved to be a heavy burden for Manley who despite a confident, outspoken persona only managed one major win - the 2003 Las Vegas Desert Classic - during his professional darts career.

Darting career

Manley's controversial personality rather than the quality of his darts was often the most notable part of his career and continued poor form resulted in him failing to secure a PDC tour card in 2012. Manley lost several major sponsors including darts manufacturer Unicorn as a result.

Manley is perhaps most famous for his long-running feud with Phil Taylor resulting from his refusal to shake Taylor's hand after losing 7-0 to him in the 2002 PDC World Darts Championship final. He has finished runner-up to Taylor in two other World Championships - losing 6-2 in 1999 and 7-0 in 2006.

His biggest tournament win was 2003 Las Vegas Desert Classic when he beat John Part 16-12 in the final. He is also the chairman of the Professional Dart Players Association, a position he has held for six years. Manley attempted getting a PDC Tour card in the Q-School in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 but was unsuccessful.

Crowd popularity

Manley's refusal to shake Taylor's hand after his 7-0 World Championship thrashing in 2002 led to darts fans booing him for many years. The boos became more ironic and good-natured when in 2005 Manley changed his entrance theme from Chumbawamba's Tubthumping to Tony Christie's Is This the Way to Amarillo. By the end of his career Manley was seen by darts crowds as being more of a 'pantomime villain' rather than subject to genuine animosity which had occurred previously. Manley has even gone on to say that whilst the booing and crowd reaction was hard for him and his family to take in the early days, it helped him as his career went on and ensured his popularity on the exhibition circuit.

Controversy

Despite being chairman of the Players' Union (the Professional Dart Players Association - PDPA), Manley was often the subject of controversy with fellow players. Most notably Taylor in the aforementioned incident, and also in the 2006 PDC World Darts Championship. During that tournament, Manley was accused of gamesmanship against Dennis Smith and in a later round against Taylor's protégé, Adrian Lewis. Manley muttered words to his opponent, resulting in Lewis leaving the stage in anger. Despite serving as Manley's best man at his wedding Manley also had a notable spat with former PDC professional player Wayne Mardle. Mardle accused Manley of being a cheat in his autobiography. Manley has also had notable spats with the likes of Roland Scholten, John Lowe, Rod Harrington and Wynand Havenga.

Outside of darts

Manley currently resides in Carlisle. He is married to Crissy Manley (née Howat), and has two daughters.

World Championship Results

PDC

  • 1998: Quarter-finals (lost to Dennis Priestley 3-4)
  • 1999: Runner Up (lost to Phil Taylor 2-6)
  • 2000: Semi-finals (lost to Dennis Priestley 2-5)
  • 2001: 1st round (lost to Jamie Harvey 2-3)
  • 2002: Runner Up (lost to Phil Taylor 0-7)
  • 2003: 2nd round (lost to Simon Whitlock 1-4)
  • 2004: Quarter-finals (lost to Bob Anderson 2-5)
  • 2005: 3rd round (lost to Josephus Schenk 2-4)
  • 2006: Runner Up (lost to Phil Taylor 0-7)
  • 2007: 2nd round (lost to Wynand Havenga 3-4)
  • 2008: Quarter-finals (lost to Kirk Shepherd 4-5)
  • 2009: 1st round (lost to Mensur Suljović 2-3)
  • 2010: 2nd round (lost to Mark Webster 2-4)

Career finals

PDC premier event finals: 5 (1 title, 4 runners-up)

Legend
World Championship (0-3)
World Matchplay (0-1)
Other (1–0)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1999 World Darts Championship (1) England Phil Taylor 2-6 (s)
Runner-up 2. 1999 World Matchplay England Rod Harrington 17-19 (l)
Runner-up 3. 2002 World Darts Championship (2) England Phil Taylor 0-7 (s)
Winner 1. 2003 Las Vegas Desert Classic Canada John Part 16–12 (l)
Runner-up 4. 2006 World Darts Championship (3) England Phil Taylor 0-7 (s)

Independent major finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2007 Masters of Darts Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld 0–7 (s)

Performance timeline

Tournament 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Winmau World Masters DNP L16 L64 L64 L64 L32 DNP
World Darts Trophy Not held Did not participate L32 QF Not held
International Darts League Not held DNP L32G Not held
PDC World Championship DNP QF RU SF L32 RU L32 QF L32 RU L32 QF L64 L32 DNQ
World Matchplay L16 L16 QF RU L32 L32 L32 SF QF SF L32 L32 L16 DNQ DNP
World Grand Prix Not held SF SF SF L32 L32 SF L16 L16 SF L32 L32 DNQ DNP
Las Vegas Desert Classic Not held L16 W L16 L32 L16 SF SF L16 Not held
UK Open Not held L32 L64 SF L64 L64 L32 L32 L96 L160
Premier League Darts Not held SF 6th 6th 6th DNP
US Open/WSoD Not held QF L16 L32 QF L64 NH
Grand Slam of Darts Not held L32G DNP
European Championship Not held SF DNP
Championship League Not held L64G L64G DNP
Players Championship Finals Not held L32 L32 DNP
Masters of Darts Not held DNP NH RU Not held
News of the World NH QF Not held
Performance Table Legend
DNP Did not play at the event DNQ Did not qualify for the event NYF Not yet founded L# lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)
QF lost in the quarter-finals SF lost in the semi-finals RU lost in the final W won the tournament