| Peter
Manley
Three World Championship Finals, four years on the Premier League rollercoaster, a winner of one of darts ‘Majors’, countless other titles, arguably the best walk-on in the sport but it isn’t enough for Peter Manley.
Despite dropping out of the world’s top 10 for the first time in a decade, he firmly believes it’s only a matter of time before the good times come back for ‘One Dart’.
Manley also puts a lot back into the sport – dedicating hours to his role as Chairman of the PDPA (Professional Darts Players Association) but it is on the oche where he continues to make a big impression.
One of the great characters of the sport, one of the great players in the world of darts and one of the great entertainers….but he insists that the desire still burns as brightly as ever.
“People may say that I am at a crossroads in my career but I just don’t buy that,” he said. “There are so many good players out there now and it is more difficult for everyone. I firmly believe that by the 2010 World Championship I will be back in the top 10. It is a realistic aim.”
In 2008, we saw glimpses of vintage Manley, as he beat Taylor and Van Barneveld in the Premier League and reached the semi-finals of two ‘Major’ tournaments – losing to James Wade in Las Vegas and Adrian Lewis at the European Championship.
He also reached two semi-finals on the PDC Pro Tour in Wales and Holland.
At the 2008 World Championship, Manley just missed out on the semi-finals – losing a quarter-final tie-break to Kirk Shepherd after missing two darts for the match.
But the 2009 tournament at the Alexandra Palace proved a major disappointment, as he lost in the 1st Round to Mensur Suljovic….and the year didn’t start well because he lost in the 1st Round of the new Players Championship Finals at the Circus Tavern to Andy Hamilton.
Proving the critics wrong though, is a major motivation for Manley, who lost those three World Championship Finals in 1999, 2002 and 2006 at The Tavern – all to a certain Philip Taylor.
And even now darts stars around the world are cursing Peter Manley! It was his crushing victory over Taylor in the Premier League at Coventry in 2008 that was the final straw for ‘The Power’ who promptly changed his darts and has been virtually unbeatable ever since!
“I know I get the blame for Taylor’s resurgence but I take that as a compliment!” he said. “But you cannot take it away from the man. It is unbelievable what he has done in the last year or so. I still believe many players have got the ability to beat him on any given day but it is all about consistency levels and sometimes even a 105 average isn’t enough!”
Thanks to Unicorn and his other sponsors BetFred, Mr Porky and Chris Sedgeman Scaffolding, and of course all his success on the oche, Manley is financially secure and it is a case of onward and upward.
“Money isn’t a consideration and it is all about the winning. My mortgage is paid off and it means the only focus is darts. I have taken a step back to look to the future and that future still looks good for Peter Manley.”
He added: “It’s about getting the enjoyment back and I reckon I am still a great darts player, so now it’s all about getting the important results when it matters.”
There are certainly no signs of Manley slowing down or taking it easy. He is still one of the most popular and busiest players on the exhibition circuit and spends more time during the year in hotel rooms than he does in his own bed!
Peter’s wife Crissy was one of the best ladies players in the world and she has started playing again, which has also helped when it comes to practice.
Manley splashed out £10,000 on a purpose built log cabin at his Carlisle home, which is laid out especially for darts and practice.
“It was a great investment and Crissy is a great help. We do a couple of hours practice and then it’s 20-30 minutes on the treadmill!”
So often, ‘One Dart’ has lived up to his nickname as one of the very best finishers in the sport and he is adamant there is much more to come.
“If I didn’t believe that, then what’s the point of playing!” he said.
2007 saw the last Manley tournament win when he beat James Wade to claim the Open Holland Masters but it is only a matter of time before more victories follow. In the same year, he produced some of the best darts of his career at the Masters of Darts.
Sadly, his brilliant darts ended up not being rewarded, because the organisers went bust. Manley reached the final in Holland – beating the very best in the world – before losing out to Barney
Of course, Manley has THE best walk-on in the sport……crowds around the world are on their feet to the sounds of ‘The Amarillo Man’ and despite being the man the crowds love to boo, he has won lots of friends!
He is a great character and also very popular amongst his peers, which is the best tribute any darts player could wish for.
Manley pocketed the biggest cheque of his life - £50,000 – his reward for reaching his third World Championship Final in 2006 but for a third time he ended up the loser after running up against an inspired Phil Taylor.
These days the Peter Manley walk-on has even eclipsed fans favourite ‘Hawaii 501’ Wayne Mardle and it is all thanks to a little help from wife Crissy and famous comedian Peter Kay.
Manley was always the target of the boo-boys – an image he enjoyed for a while. He became known as the man darts fans loved to hate but how times have changed.
He explains: “It was always a bit of harmless fun. The crowd would boo me and I would wind them up, even wearing ear-muffs on stage! Sadly, it started to get personal and some of the things being shouted were way over-the-top. It hurt Crissy and she decided to do something about it.”
The story continues: “At the time, Peter Kay was number one in the charts. He had done a cover version of Tony Christie’s ‘Show Me the Way to Amarillo’ for Comic Relief. Crissy thought it would be a great idea to adopt it as my walk-on music for all the big TV tournaments.”
“Sky Sports agreed and I used it for the first time when the new Darts Premier League came to my hometown of Carlisle. The response was unbelievable and I haven’t looked back!” Manley said.
Nowadays, the crowds go crazy when Manley enters the arena, dancing in the aisles and singing along with ‘The Amarillo Man’. It has seen Manley’s standing in the game rocket.
‘One-Dart’ has enjoyed success at all the big tournaments – Blackpool, Bolton, Dublin, Purfleet and of course Las Vegas – the scene of his greatest triumph when he beat John Part to win the Desert Classic in 2003.
Unicorn came to Manley’s rescue after he had played with the same set of darts for 30 years. They were old-fashioned copper tungsten with large barrels and all three darts turned out to be different weights!
Manley explained: “I bought them off a relative for £6 when I was a paper boy all those years ago! And when Unicorn approached me, we had them weighed and they were all different!”
His new-found popularity has resulted in Manley becoming one of the most sort-after players on the exhibition circuit. He rarely experiences a full week at home in Carlisle!
To be at the very top of darts for so long is a tribute to Manley’s great ability.
But the story still has a long way to go. He has hired a ‘Confidence Coach’ to help when it comes to the big tournaments.
“It’s all about taking a more professional approach to the sport,” he said. “I thoroughly enjoy helping other players through the PDPA and I still thoroughly enjoy playing darts. The fire is back in the belly and I want to succeed.”
There really is only one ‘One Dart’ and the future looks good for one of THE great characters in the world of darts.
Read Peter's
Lifelines and Achievements Here
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