Dennis Priestley

Dennis Priestley (born 16 July 1950) is an English former professional darts player who competed in British Darts Organisation (BDO) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is a two-time world champion, and was the first player to win both the BDO and WDC (now PDC) world championships, in 1991 and 1994 respectively. He was nicknamed "the Menace", after the Beano character Dennis the Menace, and reflected this by wearing red and black and using red and black flights.

Early career Born in Mexborough, West Riding of Yorkshire, Priestley was originally a coal merchant by trade, and did not enter professional darts until he was almost 40 years old. In 1989 he reached the final of the News of the World Darts Championship where he was beaten by the experienced Dave Whitcombe. Priestley then reached the semi-finals of the 1990 Winmau World Masters, losing to eventual champion Phil Taylor. He had defeated defending champion Taylor in his quarter-finals and 1988 champion Bob Anderson in his semi-final. He played Ronnie Baxter in the first round and lost 1–3.

At the start of 2015, Priestley announced that he had retired from professional darts, but would still do exhibitions.

Personal life Away from darts, Priestley is married and has four children, and two granddaughters. He is a football fan who supports Barnsley and Manchester United.

In November 2007, Priestley was diagnosed with prostate cancer and issued a statement through the PDC regarding his health. He was forced to withdraw from the John McEvoy Darts Classic in Ireland with pains in his abdomen having been diagnosed with the disease in the run up to the event.

World Championship results

BDO Priestley's BDO results are as follows:

1. 1991 World Darts Championship data-sort-value="Bristow, Eric, ENG" | Eric Bristow 6–0 (s)

2. 1991 British Matchplay data-sort-value="Taylor, Phil, ENG" | Phil Taylor 5–2 (s)

3. 1992 Winmau World Masters data-sort-value="Gregory, Mike, ENG" | Mike Gregory 3–2 (s)

PDC major finals: 8 (1 titles, 7 runners-up) Legend World Championship (1–4) World Matchplay (0–3)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final ScoreWinner 1. 1994 World Darts Championship 6–1 (s)Runner-up 1. 1994 World Matchplay 12–16 (l)Runner-up 2. 1995 World Matchplay (2) 11–16 (l)Runner-up 3. 1996 World Darts Championship 4–6 (s)Runner-up 4. 1996 World Matchplay (3) 14–16 (l)Runner-up 5. 1997 World Darts Championship (2) 3–6 (s)Runner-up 6. 1998 World Darts Championship (3) 0–6 (s)Runner-up 7. 2000 World Darts Championship (4) 3–7 (s)

Independent major finals Priestley has appeared in one independent major final and finished runner-up. Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final ScoreRunner-up 1. 1989 News of the World Championship Dave Whitcombe 1–2 (l)

Performance timeline Priestley's performance timeline is as follows:

BDO PDC