Peter Manley

Peter David Manley (born 7 March 1962) is an English former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events from July 1996 until 2017. He won one major title, the Las Vegas Desert Classic, in 2003, and twice held the number one ranking. He also reached the World Championship final in 1999, 2002 and 2006, losing to Phil Taylor on each occasion. Declining form led to him losing his place on the PDC tour in 2011.

For the Ontario politician, see Peter Manley (politician).

Peter Manley
Manley in 2007
Personal information
Full namePeter David Manley[1]
Nickname"One Dart"
Born (1962-03-07) 7 March 1962
Cheam, London, England
Home townCarlisle, Cumbria, England
Darts information
Playing darts since1974
DartsWinmau Tungsten 19 Gram
LateralityRight-handed
Walk-on music"Amarillo" by Tony Christie
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO1995–1996
PDC1996–2017
BDO majors – best performances
World MastersLast 16: 1998
World Darts TrophyQuarter Final: 2007
Int. Darts LeagueLast 32 Group: 2007
Finder MastersSemi Final: 2000
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'shipRunner Up: 1999, 2002, 2006
World MatchplayRunner Up: 1999
World Grand PrixSemi Final: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2006
Grand SlamGroup Stages: 2007
Premier LeagueSemi Final: 2005
Ch'ship LeagueInitial groups, Semi-finals 2008
Desert ClassicWinner (1) 2003
European Ch'shipSemi Final: 2008
UK OpenSemi Final: 2005
US Open/WSoDFifth round: 2007
Players Ch'ship FinalsLast 32: 2009, 2010
Other tournament wins
Canadian Open 2000
England Open 1999
French Open 1998
Ireland Open Spring Classic 2001
Irish Masters 2004
Isle Of Man Open 1998, 2004
Le Skratch Montreal Open 2000
Open Holland Masters 2007
PDC Eastbourne Open 2003
PDC Northern Ireland Open 2001
Sunparks Masters 2002
Vauxhall Autumn Open 2005

UK Open Regionals/Qualifiers

UK Open Regional (MID) 2003
UK Open Regional (NOE) 2003
UK Open Regional (SCO) 2002
UK Open Regional (WAL) 2003
Other achievements
PDC World number one, September 2000 to October 2001
Updated on 11 August 2018.

Manley was nicknamed "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. Manley was also known for his walk on and personality. Described as someone whom "darts crowds love to hate",[2] his antics sometimes led to run-ins with fellow players.

Darting career

Manley debut in 1996 PDC World Matchplay Last 40 to Paul Cook 5-2 in Last 32 to Dave Kelly 8-2 and Last 16 his losing to Jamie Harvey 8-3.

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,[3] a position he has held for six years.[4] Manley attempted getting a PDC Tour card in the Q-School in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 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 Mardle's best man at his wedding Manley also had a notable spat with the 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, Dave Jowett and Wynand Havenga.

World Championship results

PDC

Career finals

PDC major finals: 5 (1 title, 4 runners-up)
Legend
World Championship (0-3)
World Matchplay (0-1)
Las Vegas Desert Classic (1–0)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1999 World Darts Championship (1) Phil Taylor 2-6 (s)
Runner-up 2. 1999 World Matchplay Rod Harrington 17-19 (l)
Runner-up 3. 2002 World Darts Championship (2) Phil Taylor 0-7 (s)
Winner 1. 2003 Las Vegas Desert Classic John Part 16–12 (l)
Runner-up 4. 2006 World Darts Championship (3) 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 Raymond van Barneveld 0–7 (s)

Performance timeline
Tournament19951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011
Winmau World Masters DNP 1R 4R 2R 2R 2R 3R Did not participate
European Masters F Not held
Zuiderduin Masters Not held SF RR DNP NH DNP
World Darts Trophy Not held Did not participate 1R QF Not held
International Darts League Not held Did not participate RR Not held
PDC World Championship DNP QF F SF 1R F 2R QF 3R F 2R QF 1R 2R DNQ
World Matchplay DNP 2R 2R QF F 1R 1R 1R SF QF SF 1R 1R 2R DNQ
World Grand Prix Not held SF SF SF 1R 1R SF 2R 2R SF 1R 1R DNQ
Las Vegas Desert Classic Not held 1R W 2R 1R 2R SF SF 2R Not held
UK Open Not held 4R 3R SF 3R 4R 4R 4R 2R 1R
Premier League Darts Not held SF 6th 6th 6th DNP
Grand Slam of Darts Not held RR DNQ
European Championship Not held SF DNQ
Championship League Not held RR RR DNQ
Players Championship Finals Not held 1R 1R DNQ
Masters of Darts Not held DNP NH F Not held
News of the World Not held QF Not held
Performance Table Legend
DNP Did not play at the event DNQ Did not qualify for the event NYF Not yet founded #R 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 F lost in the final W won the tournament

References
  1. "Darts Players Wives". 17 August 2007. Sky. Sky3. Missing or empty |series= (help)
  2. "Taylor top of world with lucky thirteen title". The Independent. 3 January 2006. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  3. Peter Manley - Team Unicorn from Unicorn, retrieved 19 February 2009
  4. PDPA Board Members Archived 25 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine from the PDPA, retrieved 22 February 2009
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Phil Taylor		 PDC World Number One
24 September 2000 – 28 October 2001		 Succeeded by
Alan Warriner
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