FORMER darts star Peter Manley has opened up about his feud with Phil Taylor, admitting the 16-time world champion did not attend his wedding despite being invited.
Manley and Taylor were close rivals throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
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But their feud came to a head during the 2002 World Darts Championship final.
After suffering a 7-0 defeat to the Power, Manley did not immediately shake his opponent’s hand.
Although he later congratulated him, fans continued to boo One Dart at events in the years that followed.
The following year, both players travelled to Las Vegas for the Desert Classic.
They ended up on opposite sides of the draw, but Manley went all the way to win the competition.
He won £17,000 as a result and marked the occasion by proposing to his partner.
Taylor was invited to his wedding despite the rivalry, but did not attend.
Recalling the time in an appearance on the talkBULL podcast, Manley said: “When I won it (Desert Classic), I actually asked the lady I was courting at the time to marry me.
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“We got married the following year at the Flamingo in Vegas. So Vegas has a little sentimental touch for us.
“He (Taylor) was invited. I think he thought it was a paid bar. He never has anything in his pocket other than chalk!”
The 62-year-old went on to reveal that he and Taylor have since buried the hatchet.
“It’s what they call a sense of humour,” he said. “Although Taylor has got one, he didn’t really understand my sense of humour.
“And he took it quite personally a few times when he didn’t really need to.
“But I’ve got nothing against Phil Taylor.
“It must’ve bothered him because he has said to me, ‘Oh, we haven’t got a problem now, have we?’
“I thought, ‘Well, we didn’t back then, it was just a wind-up to try and beat you.’
“Everyone gave Phil Taylor respect and don’t get me wrong, he’s the GOAT, so he should have had respect.
“But I just wasn’t that player to give it to him. I wanted to beat him, I wanted to go home and have some posh food on my table.”
