Day One - Coral.co.uk Players Championships
Dennis fought from 3-1 down to defeat Steve Maish 6-3 in a tough first round encounter at the coral.co.uk Players Championship.
The Yorkshireman found himself two legs down midway through the contest, but battled back to defeat Maish and gain revenge for his loss to the Essex player in the 2008 World Championship.
Both players held their own throws at the start of the match before Maish managed to break for a 2-1 lead.
The local favourite then went 3-1 ahead after landing double ten with his last dart, before Priestley took the fifth leg with 100 checkout.
Priestley then levelled matters by hitting a crucial double two with his last dart, and then went ahead for the first time in the match in the seventh leg, which included his first maximum of the game.
Priestley hit another maximum in the next, but Maish missed six darts at doubles to level and Priestley snatched the leg to move 5-3 up by hitting double four, again with his third dart.
That took the veteran within touching distance of victory and he duly wrapped up the match with a 56 finish, converting double top to move into the last 16, where he meets Denis Ovens or John Part.
"It was a mixed sort of game really," said Priestley. "To be honest I'd been practising poorly so a win was a bonus, because I've had a few injections in the last few weeks for flu, tetanus and the like and I didn't realise it had upset me so much.
"I dug in, kept my composure and used my experience to win five legs on the trot, and I'm pleased with that. Hopefully I'll have some more consistency on Saturday."
