Priestley discusses rise of PDC: “I think they have done extremely well under the circumstances”

“I was delighted to see Dimitri van den Bergh win the World Matchplay as I worked with him 18 months ago at an exhibition and I found him to be a really nice friendly lad, huge talent too. “It’s great to see other nationalities coming through and winning big events. Krzysztof Ratajski is a player I like and Mensur Suljovic too. They give the PDC a strong European feel.”

Despite his resume, Priestley has never appeared as a pundit or commentator but he continued and said that if he was asked, he’d do it.

“They never asked me. Maybe I am not eloquent enough with my Yorkshire accent. But if they asked me in the morning it’s something I would love to do of course.”

Starting his career in the BDO system before becoming a founding member of the PDC, Priestley was sad to see the demise of the former but like many believes a certain offer which wasn’t taken was a big mistake.

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“Olly Croft should have taken the million that Barry Hearn put on the table that time to buy the BDO out."

“I was at an event with their current champion, Wayne Warren in February at the O2 and it was a day before the deadline for his winnings to be paid in full but sadly he never received it.”

But despite being in retirement, ‘The Menace’ is still an exhibition favourite which he hopes to continue doing when the pandemic is over.

“Family is very important so spending as much time with my wife, four children and two grandchildren will always be my priority.