Peter Lines has a long career in the world of 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. Since 1991, he has been a professional. In the early 1990s, he made the quarter-finals of the Asian Open and Strachan Open. In 1998, he qualified for the televised stages of the World Championship for the first time.
Although his career is generally unremarkable in nature, Lines' performance during the last few decades of his career was more than admirable. 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.
He found himself suddenly under pressure after a promising start for his 2011/12 season. As the season progressed and he lost matches at his last four ranking events, the pressure mounted. At the end, he was ranked only 57th on European Tour. He was able to qualify for the World Championship qualifiers and secured a spot on the European Tour for another year.
He went on to play in two other major tournaments, defeating Ian McCulloch and Joe Perry. He was also qualified for the Players Tour Championships (PTC), but his performance was not sufficient to keep him in main tour.
In 2010, he won a UK Championship. But, he was again demoted to the PTC after the 2015/16 year. As a result, he has continued to take part in amateur tournaments.
Lines' conduct during a match against Chinese pro billiards and snooker associations (WPBSA), was deemed inappropriate by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. The World Snooker Tour received Lines' complaint. They have launched an investigation. There was a formal complaint from Xiao Guodong's team, and it is expected that the matter will be referred to the World Snooker Tribunal.
The case was presented on December 16th and Lines was found guilty by the WPBSA. An interesting aspect of the fine was that Lines was found guilty by two rules related to player behavior.
The first rule required him to replace the white ball following a foul and miss. In this situation, professional players are not uncommon to temporarily hang up their cues. Brendan Moore was Lines' opponent. They argued over this matter. Both Lines and Moore claimed Lines had committed an error. Lines however maintained that he was right.
The World Snooker Tour on the other side claimed that Lines used "swear language and intimidation" during his match. Lines threatened, likewise, to fight outside.