Peter Lines has a long history in snooker. He has appeared at the final of the English Amateur Championship, and in 1999 made it to the quarter-finals of the China Open. His professional success began in 1991 when he became a professional. In the early 1990s, he made the quarter-finals of the Asian Open and Strachan Open. 1998 saw him qualify for the televised World Championship stage.
Lines' career is not remarkable, but his performance in the last few year of his career has been impressive. For the first ever time in his life, he made it to 64th place on the Order of Merit. His most impressive season was the run at German Masters. There he reached semi-finals and nearly won.
After a promising start in his 2011/12 year, he found himself under immense pressure. As the season progressed and he lost matches at his last four ranking events, the pressure mounted. He was ranked just 56th on the European Tour at the conclusion of the year. He was able, however, to get a place on the tour for an additional year.
He was able to compete in two major tournaments, defeating Joe Perry and Ian McCulloch. He was also a qualifier in the Players Tour Championships (PTC) series. However, his performance wasn't enough to keep him on the main tour.
In 2010, he won his first UK Championship. However, he was relegated back to the PTC events in the 2015/16 seasons. As a result, he has continued to take part in amateur tournaments.
Lines' behavior during a match in China has been ruled inappropriate by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. A complaint was sent to the World Snooker Tour, who has launched a thorough investigation into his actions. There was a formal complaint filed by Xiao Guodong and the matter is expected to be referred directly to the World Snooker Tribunal.
On December 16, Lines was brought before the WPBSA and sentenced to a fine. An interesting aspect of the fine was that Lines was found guilty by two rules related to player behavior.
The first rule involved his replacement of the white ball after a foul and miss award. This is not unusual for professional players. Lines' opponent, Brendan Moore, clashed with him over this issue. Both Lines and Moore claimed Lines had committed an error. Lines however maintained that he was right.
The World Snooker Tour stated that Lines used intimidation and swear words during the match. Lines also threatened to fight outside the arena.