‘Champagne Charlie’ Manby enjoyed a memorable Alexandra Palace debut after edging Cameron Menzies 3-2 to reach the second round of the World Championship.
The 20-year-old Yorkshireman first made headlines when he produced a 47-dart leg to average 130.70 on the Winmau Development Tour in February — the best in the tour’s history and a mark that shattered friend and reigning world champion Luke Littler’s previous record of 115.22. The sudden fame, though, left Manby briefly flummoxed.
Who is Charlie Manby?
Age: 20
Nationality: England
Hometown: Huddersfield
Nickname: Champagne
Darts: 22 Gram Target
Total Titles: Five
PDC World Ranking: 166
Highest Average: 130.70
“I think when you have that sort of stat to your name, you’ve got a bit of a target on your back and people have that extra fight in them when they’re playing you to do well and beat you,” Manby said, having warmed up for Ally Pally with victory in the MODUS Super Series. He admitted his confidence dipped after the record run but added he found it again quickly.
“People are playing their A-game against you all the time because they just want to beat you. It was just confidence, where I think it just dropped off a bit, but I built my way back up.”
Manby’s form returned across a 278-player Development Tour field, where he beat the likes of Beau Greaves and Tour Card holder Owen Bates (the latter in a last-leg decider) to claim his maiden Development Tour title in September. The following month he pushed Littler to the limit in one of the most memorable World Youth Championship matches, missing two darts to win — including the bull on a 130 finish.
Manby arrived in north London with momentum and reputation rising and was ready for a tough opening-round tie with Scotland’s Cameron Menzies. On a standout Monday afternoon he came from 1-0 and 2-1 down to win a five-set battle, averaging 90.62 and hitting five 180s. “It’s the greatest thing I’ve ever done in darts!” he said afterwards. “It’s a bit overwhelming, but it felt amazing up there!”
Humble beginnings
A bricklayer by trade, Manby works for a construction firm in Huddersfield and is represented by Zeal Sports. His talent was first spotted at his local working men’s club; his first tournament came at age 12. He played youth for Bradford Darts Youth, beating Maison Wilson, and progressed through the WDF Youth England Grand Prix, the JDC circuit and onto the Development Tour at 16.
“Everyone sort of looked at me and said ‘I’ve never seen him, who’s he’? And that’s when I sort of realised, ‘yeah, I can play a bit’,” Manby reflected. “The Dev Tour it’s definitely the place to be as you’re starting off as a young player because you find out where your level is at and then you just work on that and progress and progress.”
“Consistency is the hardest part of the game”
For Manby the next step is finding consistency. “I think finding that level of consistency is the hardest part of getting there,” he said. He praised Littler’s ability to switch on and produce big legs when needed: “If Luke needs to hit a 12-darter to break through, he will hit a 12-darter — it’s as simple as that! He can just switch it on like that and just kill players off.”
Asked whether he could reach Littler’s heights, Manby downplayed comparisons and leaned on their history. “Luke is number one in the world, I get that. People see him completely differently to how I see him. I’ve grown up with Luke; I played for England with him and going through all the JDC England events growing up as a really good mate.”
“He knows where I’m at and acknowledges it. And how good of a player I am.”
Nickname and next steps
Manby’s nickname, ‘Champagne Charlie’, was suggested by Chris Coles, the manager at his local football club: “He said, ‘Oh, Champagne Charlie sounds mint. Walk on to ‘Champagne Supernova’ and everything! So it just sort of started from there really.'”
Manby will next face the winner of Matt Campbell vs Adam Sevada on December 22, with a chance to further cement his status as one of the game’s most exciting young prospects.