| Tournament Name: | State ExpressWorld Team Classic |
| Venue: | Hexagon Theatre |
| Location: | Reading |
| Country: | England |
| Format: | Non-ranking event |
| Total Prize Fund: | £40,000 |
| Winners Share: | £12,000 |
| Highest Break: | , 127 |
| Winner: | England |
| Runner Up: | Wales |
| Score: | 4–3 (matches) |
| Previous: | 1980 |
| Next: | 1982 |
The 1981 World Team Classic, sponsored by State Express, was the new name of the team snooker tournament. It moved to the Hexagon Theatre in Reading with seven teams competing as the Irish players were divided. Scotland competed for the first time and lost to the Republic of Ireland in a play-off. The Republic of Ireland reached the round robin stage of the competition. All matches, including the final, were played as a best of six match with a tie break between the captains if the score was 3–3. England won their first match when captain Steve Davis won three of the four matches against Eddie Charlton of Australia. England and Wales played in the final.
John Spencer made the highest break of the tournament with a score of 103. __TOC__
Teams and results are listed below.[1]
| Country | Player 1 (Captain) | Player 2 | Player 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Mountjoy | ||||
| David Taylor | ||||
| Tommy Murphy | ||||
| Kirk Stevens | ||||
| Ian Anderson | ||||
| Eugene Hughes | ||||
| Ian Black |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 4–3 |  Australia | ||
| Northern Ireland | 4–1 | Australia | ||
| England | 4–3 | Northern Ireland |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wales | 4–2 |  Canada | ||
| Wales | 4–0 |  Republic of Ireland | ||
| Canada | 4–2 | Republic of Ireland |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 4–2 | Canada | ||
| Wales | 4–3 | Northern Ireland |
| Final: Best of 7 matches. Hexagon Theatre, Reading, England. 1 November 1981. | |||
| Steve Davis, John Spencer, David Taylor | 4–3 | Ray Reardon, Terry Griffiths, Doug Mountjoy | |
| Spencer v Reardon: 37–63, 91–45, 54–66 Davis v Mountjoy: 87 (60)–45, 100–14 Taylor v Griffiths: 77–48, 33–72 (53), 64–71 (50) Spencer v Griffiths: 75–63, 7–114, 105–0 Taylor v Mountjoy: 30–77, 34–94 Davis v Reardon: 80–32, 59–11, Play off: 69–52 | |||
| 103 (Spencer) | Highest break | 63 (Mountjoy) | |
| 1 | Century breaks | 0 | |
| 3 | 50+ breaks | 4 | |