I’m a two-time Darts World Champion – before I went on stage I had four beers to calm the nerves
A FORMER two-time darts World Champion has revealed he was so nervous before going on stage that he would sink FOUR BEERS.
And 73-year-old Dennis ‘The Menace’ Priestley puts the success he enjoyed throughout his career down to the alcohol he had before climbing on to the oche.
The Brit, who previously worked as a newsagent, became a top name in darts back in the early 1990s.
He firstly beat Eric Bristow 6-0 to win the BDO World Championships and then repeated that trick in the WDC, which was a precursor for the PDC, three years later.
But he insists that none of that would have been possible had he not calmed his nerves by drinking before games.
Priestley, who has survived prostate cancer after being diagnosed in 2007, told : “Players will definitely be drinking before games, even at this year's tournament.
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“There aren't many that go on stage without having a drink before they play.
“If you can name a handful of players who haven't had a drop of alcohol before their games this year, I'll be gobsmacked.
“Drinking before games definitely helps the players. If it hadn't been for alcohol, I probably wouldn't have won anything in the sport.
“You've just got to know exactly the right amount you need to keep a steady nerve.”
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He then admitted: “When I won my first World Championship, I probably had three or four bottles of Holsten Pils during the build-up to coming on stage. It just calms the nerves.”
Between 1991 and 1994, Priestley was the only player to win more than one grand slam/major title.
He won three in total, and he also claimed more top pro events on either circuit than anyone else while he also attained the number-one ranking.
Meanwhile, this year’s PDC World Darts Championships gets underway next Friday at Ally Pally in London.
