The 1981 UK Championship (officially the 1981 Coral UK Championship) was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place at the Guild Hall in Preston, England, between 22 November and 5 December 1981. This was the fifth edition of the UK Championship, the fourth staging of the competition in Preston, and the fourth consecutive UK Championship to be sponsored by Coral. The televised stages were shown on the BBC from the quarter-finals on 28 November through to the end of the championship.
Tournament summary Steve Davis retained the first of his major titles by defeating Terry Griffiths 16–3 in the final. Jimmy White, fresh from his success in the Langs Scottish Masters and Northern Ireland Classic, which took place earlier in the season, beat Clive Everton, John Virgo, Dennis Taylor and Ray Reardon, in reaching the semi-finals at his first attempt, but then was whitewashed 0–9 by the reigning World and UK Champion Steve Davis. Two other young players, Tony Knowles and Tony Meo, also enhanced their reputations: Knowles by beating Fred Davis and Doug Mountjoy in reaching the quarter-finals, and Meo by defeating Rex Williams, Cliff Thorburn and Alex Higgins in reaching the semi-finals.
Main draw
Final Final: Best of 31 frames. Referee: The Guild Hall, Preston, England, 4 and 5 December 1981. Steve Davis 16–3 Terry Griffiths First session: 28–60, 102–13 (87), 74–12, 76–24, 72–1 (65), 69–20, 75–45 (63) Second session: 84–37 (58), 116–1 (56), 73–62 (54), 0–127 (96), 111–8, 64–44, 57–32, 27–77 (77)Third session: 90–22, 113–9 (52), 81–26 (59), 54–37 87 Highest break 96 0 Century breaks 0 8 50+ breaks 2
Qualifying
Best of 17 frames
Winner Score Competitor Group 1 Paul Medati 9–6 Eddie McLaughlin Paul Medati 9–7 Jim Donnelly Group 2 Mike Hallett 9–4 Vic Harris Mike Hallett 9–6 Dennis Hughes Group 3 Matt Gibson 9–6 Jack Fitzmaurice Clive Everton 9–6 Matt Gibson Group 4 Joe Johnson 9–6 Tommy Murphy Mike Watterson 9–4 Bernard Bennett Joe Johnson 9–3 Mike Watterson
Winner Score Competitor Group 5 Pat Houlihan 9–1 Kingsley Kennerley Pat Houlihan 9–4 Ian Black Group 6 Geoff Foulds 9–7 Billy Kelly Group 7 Eddie Sinclair 9–6 Mark Wildman Eddie Sinclair 9–0 Sid Hood Group 8 Rex Williams 9–3 Doug French Colin Roscoe 9–7 Murdo MacLeod Rex Williams 9–4 Colin Roscoe
Winner Score Competitor Round of 32 Best of 17 frames. Willie Thorne 9–6 Paul Medati Mike Hallett 9–5 Patsy Fagan Jimmy White 9–4 Clive Everton Joe Johnson 9–5 Cliff Wilson Pat Houlihan 9–4 Jim Meadowcroft Tony Knowles 9–1 Geoff Foulds Dave Martin 9–7 Eddie Sinclair Rex Williams 9–4 John Dunning
Century breaks
131 Terry Griffiths 126 Willie Thorne 120, 105 Steve Davis 120 Alex Higgins 120 Kirk Stevens 107 Tony Meo 103 Rex Williams 102 Tony Knowles
References