darts, Priestley is married to Jenny and has 4 children. He has 2 granddaughters. Dennis is also a massive football fan. He 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. He had stated his thoughts were to undergo surgery at some point in early 2008, however, after losing 5–2 to Van Barneveld in the second round of the Grand Slam of Darts (despite averaging 103.5), he announced that he would be making arrangements to undergo surgery in the days following the event. This did not prevent him taking his place in the 2008 World Championship where he lost in the first round to Steve Maish. After an extended period of treatment and recuperation, Priestley returned to the PDC circuit in May 2008. He quickly regained his form and reached the semi-finals of the US Open where he was beaten, once again, by Taylor. He also lost to Taylor again after a terrific run to the semis of the 2008 World Matchplay. World Championship results BDO 1991: Winner (beat Eric Bristow 6–0) 1992: 2nd Round (lost to Alan Warriner-Little 2–3) 1993: 2nd Round (lost to Steve Beaton 1–3) PDC 1994: Winner (beat Phil Taylor 6–1) 1995: Group Stage (lost to John Lowe 0–3) & (beat Jocky Wilson 3–2) 1996: Runner Up (lost to Phil Taylor 4–6) 1997: Runner Up (lost to Phil Taylor 3–6) 1998: Runner Up (lost to Phil Taylor 0–6) 1999: 1st Round (lost to John Ferrell 0–3) 2000: Runner Up (lost to Phil Taylor 3–7) 2001: 1st Round (lost to Keith Deller 2–3) 2002: Quarter-finals (lost to Dave Askew 2–6) 2003: 2nd Round (lost to Dennis Smith 1–4) 2004: 4th Round (lost to Phil Taylor 1–4) 2005: 4th Round (lost to Phil Taylor 0–4) 2006: 2nd Round (lost to Adrian Lewis 2–4) 2007: 3rd Round (lost to Andy Hamilton 1–4) 2008: 1st Round (lost to Steve Maish 1–3) 2009: 3rd Round (lost to Paul Nicholson 2–4) 2010: 1st Round (lost to Kevin McDine 2–3) 2011: 2nd Round (lost to Gary Anderson 2–4) 2013: 1st Round (lost to Ronnie Baxter 1–3) Career finals BDO major finals: 3 (3 titles) PDC major finals: