Peter Lines has a long history in snooker. He has reached the final of both the English Amateur Championship as well as the quarter-finals in the China Open. Since 1991, he has been a professional. In the early 1990s, his quarter-finals reached at the Strachan Open as well as the Asian Open. 1998 was the first year he reached the televised stages at the World Championship.
His career is not particularly noteworthy, but Lines' career performance over the last few years has been exceptional. Lines reached the top 64 of Order of Merit and even made it to the quarterfinals of a ranking competition for the first-time in his career. 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 fortunate to be able to secure a place on tour for another year and qualify for the World Championship.
He went on to play in two other major tournaments, defeating Ian McCulloch and Joe Perry. He also won a qualifier for the Players Tour Championship (PTC) series, but his performance was not enough to keep him in the main tour.
He won the UK Championship in 2010. However, he was once again relegated after the 2015/16 season. He continues to participate in amateur tournaments.
Lines' behavior during a match in China has been ruled inappropriate by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. The World Snooker Tour received Lines' complaint. They have launched an investigation. The World Snooker Tribunal will likely be referred to the formal complaint made by Xiao Guodong's staff.
The case was heard by the WPBSA on December 16th. Lines was fined for his offence. But, Lines was found guilty in two cases relating to player conduct.
His replacement of the white cue ball after a foul was called for in the first rule. In this situation, professional players are not uncommon to temporarily hang up their cues. Brendan Moore (Lines' opponent) fought with him on this issue. Both Lines and Moore claimed Lines had committed an error. Lines however maintained that he was right.
However, the World Snooker Tour claimed that Lines used "swear terms and intimidation" during their match. Lines also threatened to fight outside the arena.