First PDC World Darts Championship winner reveals biggest prize money cheque he ever received and it speaks volumes

The first ever winner of the PDC World Darts Championship has revealed the highest cheque he ever earned from a professional tournament - and it speaks volumes.

Dennis Priestley lifted the world title in the first year of the PDC in 1994, beating Phil Taylor in the final.

'The Menace' worked as a newsagent at the time he entered the top echelon of darts in the early 1990s, winning the BDO world title in 1991.

After becoming one of 16 founder members of the PDC (then known as the World Darts Council) and winning the inaugural crown, he would subsequently reach the final of the World Championship on four more occasions. Taylor got the better of him in each final, however.

Priestley scooped £25,000 for winning the title in 1994 - but that was not the highest amount he ever earned from a single event.

Speaking to PressBoxPR, he explained: "Looking back, it must still be the 1991 Embassy [BDO World Darts Championship], when I beat Eric Bristow 6-0.

"The highest one then was the £26,000 for the winner. In 1994, when I played Phil in the first PDC one, it was at £25,000."

The comparison to today's earnings are significant, with players who reached the third round of the 2025 World Championship earning £25,000.

Image: PressBoxPR

The winner of the tournament will earn £500,000, with the runner-up pocketing £200,000.

If a new player entered the world rankings today with £26,000 earnings, they would place as 96th in the world, whereas a winner of this year's title would be comfortably inside the top 16.

Priestley was described as 'the best player I have ever seen' by Taylor, and although he never won a world title again in his career, did remain comfortably within the top 16 for the next 15 years.

He reached two PDC semi-finals in 2008 but began to slip down the rankings from 2009 onwards, and retired from competitive darts in 2015. Now 74 years of age, he occasionally plays in exhibitions.