Darts: Priestley pushed all the way

Second seed Dennis Priestley had to struggle for two hours before beating Peter Manley of Surrey 4-3 in the opening quarter-final of the Skol World Championship at Purfleet last night.

Yorkshireman Priestley, who has won both this tournament and the Embassy World title once during an illustrious career, had 11 180s during the match but he admitted his attempts at throwing doubles had been inconsistent.

Les Wallace, the Embassy World champion, is threatening to quit the sport unless the present restrictions in the game are lifted.

The dispute between the British Darts Organisation, who run the Embassy, and the Professional Darts Corporation, who are staging the Skol World Championship, was supposed to have been settled following a court case last summer. But players who reach the second round of the Embassy, which starts at the Lakeside Country Club, Frimley Green, today will not be allowed to play in the next Skol Championship.