1981 UK Championship (snooker)

Coral UK Championship

Tournament information
Dates	22 November–5 December 1981
Venue	Guild Hall
City	Preston
Country	England
Organisation(s)	WPBSA
Format	Non-ranking event
Total prize fund	£40,000
Winner's share	£10,000
Final
Champion	Steve Davis
Runner-up	Terry Griffiths
Score	16–3
← 1980 1982 →

The 1981 Coral UK Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place at the Guild Hall in Preston, England. The event began on 22 November 1981 and the televised stages were shown on BBC between 28 November and 5 December 1981.

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 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 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

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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

Winner Score Competitor Round of 24 Best of 17 frames. Willie Thorne 9–4 Ray Edmonds Kirk Stevens 9–4 Mike Hallett Jimmy White 9–6 John Virgo Joe Johnson 9–5 John Spencer Graham Miles 9–5 Pat Houlihan Tony Knowles 9–6 Fred Davis Alex Higgins 9–7 Dave Martin Tony Meo 9–8 Rex Williams

	Round of 16				Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	Steve Davis	9
	Willie Thorne	2
					Steve Davis	9
					Bill Werbeniuk	5
	Bill Werbeniuk	9
	Kirk Stevens	7
									Steve Davis	9
									Jimmy White	0
	Dennis Taylor	5
	Jimmy White	9
					Jimmy White	9
					Ray Reardon	8
	Ray Reardon	9
	Joe Johnson	7
													Steve Davis	16
													Terry Griffiths	3
	Terry Griffiths	9
	Graham Miles	4
					Terry Griffiths	9
					Tony Knowles	5
	Doug Mountjoy	6
	Tony Knowles	9
									Terry Griffiths	9
									Tony Meo	3
	David Taylor	5
	Alex Higgins	9
					Alex Higgins	4
					Tony Meo	9
	Cliff Thorburn	6
	Tony Meo	9

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 McLeod Rex Williams 9–4 Colin Roscoe

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