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The final was contested as a best-of-27 frame match, held between 30 November and 1 December 1979. The match was held over three sessions, with two on the first day and the final on the second, between John Virgo and world champion Terry Griffiths. Virgo took an early lead, winning the first five frames including breaks of 63 and 67. Griffiths won two of the remaining frames, but trailed 7–2 after the first session. The second session saw Griffiths win the first three frames to trail 7–5 before Virgo led 11–7 at the end of the session.
The final session was played on 1 December 1979 and was broadcast on '' Grandstand''. With the final being live on national television, the match was moved from the regular 1:45 p.m. start time to 12 noon. Virgo, having not seen that the times had changed, was reading a paper in his hotel room when he was informed that he had missed the start time for the session. Virgo was over 30 minutes late to the arena and was docked two frames for arriving late. 20 August 2019 Griffiths took the two remaining frames before the interval to tie the match 11–11.
During the interval, Griffiths approached Virgo and offered half of the prize money for the event, apologetic at the situation of having frames awarded. Virgo replied: "You haven't won it yet," noting the match hadn't finished. Virgo won frame 23 to lead 12–11, before Griffiths tied the match again at 12–12. Griffiths made a break of 68 to lead 13–12, before a break of 50 in frame 26 by Virgo took the match into a deciding frame. Virgo won the final frame to claim the match 14–13 and his sole major title win. The final frames of the final were unaired, due to a strike of
staff, with cameramen leaving the arena during the final frame.
The 1979 UK Championship (also known as the 1979 Coral UK Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a professional non-
on their '' Grandstand'' programme; however, due to a strike by BBC personnel, the final frames of the match – including Virgo being awarded the championship – were never broadcast or recorded.
ranking
A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second.
In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of ...
snooker tournament that took place between 19 November and 1 December 1979 at the Guild Hall in Preston, England. This was the third edition of the UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan ...
that would later become part of snooker's Triple Crown
Triple Crown may refer to:
Sports Horse racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States)
** Triple Crown Trophy
** Triple Crown Productions
* Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Tri ...
. The event was sponsored by Coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...
for the second year in a row.
John Virgo
John Virgo (born 4 March 1946) is an English former professional snooker player who has since developed a career as a snooker commentator and TV personality.
Snooker career
Early professional career (1973–1978)
Virgo's first notable appea ...
won the championship, in his only major tournament win, by defeating Terry Griffiths
Terence Martin Griffiths (born 16 October 1947) is a Welsh retired professional snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. In his second professional tournament, he became world champion when he won the 1979 World Snooker Champions ...
14–13 in the final, despite being deducted two frames for arriving late. The defending champion, Doug Mountjoy
Doug Mountjoy (8 June 1942 – 14 February 2021) was a Welsh snooker player from Tir-y-Berth, Gelligaer, Glamorgan, Wales. He was a member of the professional snooker circuit from the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, and remained within the ...
, was defeated 5–9 by Steve Davis
Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he reached eight World S ...
in the opening round. Griffiths compiled the tournament's highest break of 119 in his semi-final win over Bill Werbeniuk
William Alexander Werbeniuk ( ; 14 January 1947 – 20 January 2003) was a Canadian professional snooker and pool player. Recognisable for his girth, he was nicknamed "Big Bill". Werbeniuk was a four-time World Championship quarter-finalist and ...
. The last session of the final was broadcast by the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Tournament summary
The 1979 UK Championship was a professional non-ranking event held between 19 November and 1 December 1979 at thePreston Guild Hall
Preston Guild Hall is an entertainment venue in Preston, Lancashire, England.
History
The Guild Hall was commissioned to replace the town's Public Hall. The new building, which was designed by Robert Matthew, Johnson Marshall, was due to be rea ...
, England. The tournament was the third annual UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan ...
, first held in 1977. The event saw 27 players compete, with the highest-ranked eight players based on the previous years world championship receiving a bye to the last 16,Testing for recruits. Everton, Clive. The Guardian (1959–2003); London (UK) 12 Sep 1979: 25. via ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian and The Observer 20 August 2019 and the last six players competing in a playoff round. This was the first time that any seedings list for a professional snooker tournament had occurred. Ray Reardon
Ray may refer to:
Fish
* Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea
* Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin
Science and mathematics
* Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point
* Ray (gra ...
did not compete at the event, having signed a sponsorship contract with General Motors to only play in specific tournaments and exhibitions. World Championship semi-finalist Eddie Charlton
Edward Francis Charlton, (31 October 1929 – 8 November 2004) was an Australian professional snooker and English billiards player. He remains the only player to have been world championship runner-up in both snooker and billiards without winn ...
and Rex Williams
Desmond Rex Williams (born 20 July 1933) is a retired English professional snooker and billiards player. He was the second player to make an official maximum break, achieving this in an exhibition match in December 1965. Williams won the Wo ...
did not play at the event, instead opting to play in a tour of Australia.
Matches until the final were contested as best-of-17- matches, with the final played as best-of-27-frames. The preliminary rounds saw two matches reach a final frame decider, with both John Dunning and Jackie Rea
John Joseph "Jackie" Rea (6 April 1921 – 20 October 2013) was a Northern Irish snooker player. He was the leading Irish snooker player until the emergence of Alex Higgins.
Rea reached the semi-final of the 1952 World Championship losing to ...
winning matches 9–8.
Early rounds
The last 24 round was played from 20 to 23 November 1979. Future six-time world championSteve Davis
Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he reached eight World S ...
made his debut in the competition and defeated John Dunning 9–3. Another future world champion Joe Johnson also made his debut in the competition, playing his third professional tournament, but lost 3–9 to Bill Werbeniuk
William Alexander Werbeniuk ( ; 14 January 1947 – 20 January 2003) was a Canadian professional snooker and pool player. Recognisable for his girth, he was nicknamed "Big Bill". Werbeniuk was a four-time World Championship quarter-finalist and ...
. All three players who competed in the preliminary round were defeated in the last 24.
The round of 16 saw Steve Davis overcome reigning champion Doug Mountjoy
Doug Mountjoy (8 June 1942 – 14 February 2021) was a Welsh snooker player from Tir-y-Berth, Gelligaer, Glamorgan, Wales. He was a member of the professional snooker circuit from the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, and remained within the ...
9–5. World number four and three-time world champion John Spencer was defeated by Bill Werbeniuk 8–9. Former winner Patsy Fagan
Patsy Fagan (born 15 January 1951) is an Irish former professional snooker player. Having been runner-up in the 1974 English Amateur Championship, he turned professional in October 1976. He experienced early success with victories at the 1977 ...
defeated two-time Pot Black
''Pot Black'' was a snooker tournament in the United Kingdom broadcast on the BBC. Each match was contested over a single , where other tournaments were significantly longer. The event carried no ranking points, but played a large part in t ...
champion Graham Miles
Graham Miles (11 May 1941 – 12 October 2014) was an English snooker player.
Career
Miles turned professional in 1971. He first gained recognition in 1974, when he reached the final of the World Championship. Although he lost 12–22 to Ray Re ...
9–5. John Virgo
John Virgo (born 4 March 1946) is an English former professional snooker player who has since developed a career as a snooker commentator and TV personality.
Snooker career
Early professional career (1973–1978)
Virgo's first notable appea ...
defeated Tony Meo
Anthony Christian Meo (born 4 October 1959) is a retired English snooker player. He won the 1989 British Open by defeating Dean Reynolds 13–6 in the final, and was runner-up to Steve Davis at the 1984 Classic. He won four World Doubles Cham ...
9–6, despite being 5–0 and 5–3 down after the first session, making a break of 102 in frame 11. Dennis Taylor
Dennis Taylor (born 19 January 1949) is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He is best known for winning the 1985 World Snooker Championship, where he defeated the defending champion Steve Davis in a ...
and Willie Thorne
William Joseph Thorne (4 March 195417 June 2020) was an English professional snooker player. He won one ranking title, the 1985 Classic. He also reached the final of the 1985 UK Championship, losing 16–14 to Steve Davis after leading 13–8 ...
contested a final frame decider, with Taylor defeating Thorne to win 9–8. Having won the 1979 World Snooker Championship
The 1979 World Snooker Championship (also known as the 1979 Embassy World Snooker Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a ranking professional snooker tournament that took place from 16 to 28 April 1979 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffi ...
earlier that year, Terry Griffiths
Terence Martin Griffiths (born 16 October 1947) is a Welsh retired professional snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. In his second professional tournament, he became world champion when he won the 1979 World Snooker Champions ...
defeated Cliff Wilson
Clifford Wilson (10 May 193421 May 1994) was a Welsh professional snooker player who reached the highest ranking of 16, in 1988-89. He was the 1978 World Amateur Champion and won the 1991 World Seniors Championship. He was a successful junior ...
9–4.
Quarter–semi-finals
The quarter-finals were contested from 24 to 26 November 1979. John Virgo took an early lead over Steve Davis 4–3, and later 8–7 in their match. In frame 16, Virgo had the chance to win, and Davis accidentally dropped his cue, making a loud sound. Virgo still potted the next shot during the noise and make a clearance to win the match 9–7. Post-match, Davis commented to Virgo that it was the only time he had ever wanted his opponent to ''not'' miss. Elsewhere, Dennis Taylor defeated Patsy Fagan 9–6, Bill Werbeniuk defeated Ray Edmonds 9–8, and Terry Griffiths defeated Alex Higgins 9–7. The semi-finals were played from 27 to 29 November 1979. The semi-finals were similar to the 1979 World Snooker Championship, where John Virgo played Dennis Taylor and Terry Griffiths played Eddie Charlton. In place of Charlton, Bill Webeniuk took on Griffiths. Despite having lost heavily at the world championships (12–19), Virgo defeated Taylor 9–4 to reach his only major final. In the second semi-final, Terry Griffiths defeated Werbeniuk 9–3.Final
The final was contested as a best-of-27 frame match, held between 30 November and 1 December 1979. The match was held over three sessions, with two on the first day and the final on the second, between John Virgo and world champion Terry Griffiths. Virgo took an early lead, winning the first five frames including breaks of 63 and 67. Griffiths won two of the remaining frames, but trailed 7–2 after the first session. The second session saw Griffiths win the first three frames to trail 7–5 before Virgo led 11–7 at the end of the session.
The final session was played on 1 December 1979 and was broadcast on '' Grandstand''. With the final being live on national television, the match was moved from the regular 1:45 p.m. start time to 12 noon. Virgo, having not seen that the times had changed, was reading a paper in his hotel room when he was informed that he had missed the start time for the session. Virgo was over 30 minutes late to the arena and was docked two frames for arriving late. 20 August 2019 Griffiths took the two remaining frames before the interval to tie the match 11–11.
During the interval, Griffiths approached Virgo and offered half of the prize money for the event, apologetic at the situation of having frames awarded. Virgo replied: "You haven't won it yet," noting the match hadn't finished. Virgo won frame 23 to lead 12–11, before Griffiths tied the match again at 12–12. Griffiths made a break of 68 to lead 13–12, before a break of 50 in frame 26 by Virgo took the match into a deciding frame. Virgo won the final frame to claim the match 14–13 and his sole major title win. The final frames of the final were unaired, due to a strike of BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Main draw
The following is the full results from the event. Players in bold are denoting match winners. Preliminary roundBest of 17 frames 9–8 9–1 9–8 Last 24
Best of 17 frames 9–3 9–7 9–4 9–4 9–3 9–3 9–3 9–7
Final
Century breaks
A total of five century breaks were made during the tournament, the highest of which being a 119 by Terry Griffiths. * 119, 118Terry Griffiths
Terence Martin Griffiths (born 16 October 1947) is a Welsh retired professional snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. In his second professional tournament, he became world champion when he won the 1979 World Snooker Champions ...
* 104 Alex Higgins
Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" because of his fast play, he was Worl ...
* 103 Pat Houlihan
Patrick Houlihan (7 November 1929 – 8 November 2006https://wst.tv/the-greatest-snooker-player-you-never-saw/) was an English snooker player. He was born in Deptford, London.
Houlihan turned professional in 1971 at the age of 42 after many ...
* 102 John Virgo
John Virgo (born 4 March 1946) is an English former professional snooker player who has since developed a career as a snooker commentator and TV personality.
Snooker career
Early professional career (1973–1978)
Virgo's first notable appea ...
References
{{Snooker season 1979/19801979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan ...
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan ...
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan ...
UK Championship
The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is one of snooker's prestigious Triple Crown events, along with the World Championship and the Masters. It is usually held at the Barbican Centre, York. Ronnie O'Sullivan ...