Peter Manley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Peter Manley
Manley in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Peter David Manley
Nickname	"One Dart"
Born	(1962-03-07) 7 March 1962 (age 63) Cheam, London, England
Home town	Carlisle, Cumbria, England
Darts information
Playing darts since	1974
Darts	Winmau Tungsten 19 Gram
Laterality	Right-handed
Walk-on music	"Amarillo" by Tony Christie preceded opening to "Who Are You" by The Who
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO	1995–1996
PDC	1996–2017
BDO majors – best performances
World Masters	Last 16: 1998
World Darts Trophy	Quarter Final: 2007
Int. Darts League	Last 32 Group: 2007
Finder Masters	Semi Final: 2000
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'ship	Runner Up: 1999, 2002, 2006
World Matchplay	Runner Up: 1999
World Grand Prix	Semi Final: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2006
Grand Slam	Group Stages: 2007
Premier League	Semi Final: 2005
Ch'ship League	Initial groups, Semi-finals: 2008
Desert Classic	Winner (1): 2003
European Ch'ship	Semi Final: 2008
UK Open	Semi Final: 2005
US Open/WSoD	Fifth round: 2007
Players Ch'ship Finals	Last 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 North American Open 1997 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.

Peter David Manley, born on March 7, 1962, is a former professional darts player from England. He played in major darts competitions, mainly with the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), from 1996 to 2017. He won a big tournament called the Las Vegas Desert Classic in 2003. He was also ranked the number one darts player in the world twice!

Peter also made it to the World Championship final three times (in 1999, 2002, and 2006). Each time, he lost to another famous player, Phil Taylor. After 2011, his performance wasn't as strong, and he left the main PDC tour.

Commentator Tony Green gave Peter Manley the nickname "One Dart". This happened because Peter often won games by hitting the winning double with his very first dart. This was during his first TV appearance at the 1995 Unipart European Masters. Peter was also known for his exciting walk-on music and his strong personality. He was sometimes called the player "darts crowds love to hate" because of his playful antics.

Peter Manley's Darts Career

Peter Manley started his professional darts career in 1996. One of his first big events was the PDC World Matchplay. He played well, but eventually lost to Jamie Harvey.

Rivalry with Phil Taylor

Peter Manley is well-known for his long-standing rivalry with Phil Taylor. This started when Peter didn't shake Phil's hand after losing 7–0 to him in the 2002 PDC World Darts Championship final. Peter also finished second to Phil in two other World Championships. He lost 6–2 in 1999 and 7–0 in 2006.

Major Tournament Win

His biggest win was at the 2003 Las Vegas Desert Classic in 2003. He beat John Part with a score of 16–12 in the final match. Peter also served as the chairman of the Professional Dart Players Association for six years. After leaving the main PDC tour, he tried to get back on it several times but was not successful.

Recent Appearances

In 2022, Peter Manley played in the first-ever World Seniors Darts Championship. He won his first match against Deta Hedman but then lost to his old rival, Phil Taylor. Later that year, he also played in the 2022 World Seniors Darts Matchplay. He reached the Quarter Finals after beating John Part again, but his journey ended when he lost to Phil Taylor once more.

Crowd Reaction and Personality

After the 2002 World Championship final, many darts fans booed Peter Manley for several years. However, by 2005, the booing started to become more playful. This was especially true when he changed his entrance song from Chumbawamba's Tubthumping to Tony Christie's "Is This the Way to Amarillo".

By the end of his career, fans saw Peter more as a "pantomime villain." This means he was someone the crowd loved to playfully boo, rather than someone they genuinely disliked. Peter has said that while the booing was tough for him and his family at first, it actually helped his career later on. It also made him very popular for exhibition matches.

On-Stage Disagreements

Even though Peter was the chairman of the Players' Union (the Professional Dart Players Association – PDPA), he sometimes had disagreements with other players. The most famous one was with Phil Taylor, as mentioned earlier. In the 2006 PDC World Darts Championship, Peter was accused of trying to distract his opponents. He muttered words to Adrian Lewis, which made Adrian very angry and caused him to leave the stage for a moment.

Peter also had disagreements with other players like Wayne Mardle, even though he was Mardle's best man at his wedding. Mardle even wrote in his book that Peter was a "cheat." Peter also had notable spats with players such as Roland Scholten, John Lowe, Rod Harrington, Dave Jowett, and Wynand Havenga.

World Championship Results

PDC World Championship

• 1997: Preliminary round (lost to Chris Mason 0–3)
• 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: First round (lost to Jamie Harvey 2–3)
• 2002: Runner-up (lost to Phil Taylor 0–7)
• 2003: Second round (lost to Simon Whitlock 1–4)
• 2004: Quarter-finals (lost to Bob Anderson 2–5)
• 2005: Third round (lost to Josephus Schenk 2–4)
• 2006: Runner-up (lost to Phil Taylor 0–7)
• 2007: Second round (lost to Wynand Havenga 3–4)
• 2008: Quarter-finals (lost to Kirk Shepherd 4–5)
• 2009: First round (lost to Mensur Suljović 2–3)
• 2010: Second round (lost to Mark Webster 2–4)

World Seniors Darts Championship (WSDT)

• 2022: Second round (lost to Phil Taylor 1–3)
• 2023: First round (lost to Scott Mitchell 0–3)

Major Finals Played

PDC Major Finals: 5 (1 Title)

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

Other 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)