1981 UK Championship explained

Tournament Name:	1981 Coral UK Championship
Venue:	Preston Guild Hall
Location:	Preston
Country:	England
Organisation:	WPBSA
Format:	Non-ranking event
Total Prize Fund:	£40,000
Winners Share:	£10,000
Highest Break:	Terry Griffiths (131)
Winner:	Steve Davis
Runner Up:	Terry Griffiths
Score:	16–3
Previous:	1980
Next:	1982

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 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

^[1]

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

^[2] 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

Notes and References

1. Web site: UK Championship. https://web.archive.org/web/20130124071813/http://www.snookerscene.co.uk/page.php?id=34. 24 January 2013. Snooker Scene. 17 November 2017.
2. Web site: 1981 UK Championship Results. Snooker Database. 13 October 2010. 7 October 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111007102240/http://www.snookerdatabase.co.uk/EventResults.aspx?EventKey=124. dead.