Peter David Manley (born 7 March 1962) is an English former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events from 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.

This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (March 2013)

Quick Facts Personal information, Full name ...

Peter Manley
Manley in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Peter David Manley[1]
Nickname	"One Dart"
Born	(1962-03-07) 7 March 1962 (age 62) 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
WDF major events – best performances
World Masters	Last 16: 1998
World 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
UK Open	Semi Final: 2005
Grand Slam	Group Stages: 2007
European Ch'ship	Semi Final: 2008
Premier League	Semi Final: 2005
Ch'ship League	Initial groups, Semi-finals: 2008
Desert Classic	Winner (1): 2003
US Open/WSoD	Fifth round: 2007
PC Finals	Last 32: 2009, 2010
WSDT major events – best performances
World Ch'ship	Last 16: 2022
World Matchplay	Quarter Final: 2022
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.

Close

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.

Manley made his 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^{[citation needed]} and continued poor form resulted in his failure 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.

In 2022, Manley appeared in the inaugural World Seniors Darts Championship and reached the second round, where after winning against former BDO world finalist, Deta Hedman 3 - 1 he suffered a 3 - 1 defeat to old time rival Phil Taylor. Although not competing in the 2022 World Seniors Darts Masters, he made an appearance at the 2022 World Seniors Darts Matchplay in which he managed to reach the Quarter Finals after beating John Part in a deciding leg. His run was then ended once more by Phil Taylor. Manley entered the Modus Online Super League, in December 2022 in preparation for the 2023 World Seniors Darts Championship in which he pulled off a 4 - 2 win over Alan Norris.

Crowd popularity

This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (February 2023)

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 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.^{[citation needed]}

Controversy

This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (February 2023)

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.