1980 UK Championship

The 1980 UK Championship (also known as the 1980 Coral UK Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place at the Guild Hall in Preston, England, between 16 and 29 November 1980. This was the fourth edition of the UK Championship and the third staging of the competition in Preston. The event was sponsored by Coral for the third consecutive year. The televised stages were shown on the BBC from 22 to 29 November – the BBC's television coverage had been extended to eight days after the success of other competitions such as the World Championship.

1980 Coral UK Championship

Tournament information
Dates	16–29 November 1980
Venue	Guild Hall
City	Preston
Country	England
Organisation(s)	WPBSA
Format	Non-ranking event
Winner's share	£6,000
Highest break	Alex Higgins (134)
Final
Champion	Steve Davis
Runner-up	Alex Higgins
Score	16–6
← 1979 1981 →

Steve Davis defeated Alex Higgins 16–6 in the final to win his first major title, after making his first major quarter-final in the previous year's championship. Davis whitewashed Terry Griffiths 9–0 in the semi-finals on his way to the final. The highest break of the tournament was a 134 made by Higgins.

Prize fund

[1]

• Winner: £6,000
• Runner-up: £3,000
• Semi-final: £1,500
• Quarter-final: £1,000
• Last 16: £500
• Last 24: £250

Main draw

[2]

	Last 24 Best of 17 frames					Last 16 Best of 17 frames					Quarter-finals Best of 17 frames					Semi-finals Best of 17 frames					Final Best of 31 frames
		Tony Meo	9				John Virgo	1
		Pat Houlihan	1				Tony Meo	9
												Tony Meo	5
												Steve Davis	9
		Steve Davis	9		Bill Werbeniuk	3
		Mike Hallett	1				Steve Davis	9
																	Steve Davis	9
																Terry Griffiths	0
		Dennis Taylor	9				Dennis Taylor	9
		Graham Miles	5				Eddie Sinclair	6
												Dennis Taylor	2
												Terry Griffiths	9
		Patsy Fagan	9		Terry Griffiths	9
		Joe Johnson	4				Patsy Fagan	8
																						Steve Davis	16
																						Alex Higgins	6
		Willie Thorne	9				Alex Higgins	9
		Jim Meadowcroft	1				Willie Thorne	7
												Alex Higgins	9
												Fred Davis	6
		Mark Wildman	9		Fred Davis	9
		John Spencer	7				Mark Wildman	6
																	Alex Higgins	9
																Ray Reardon	7
		Roy Andrewartha	9				Ray Reardon	9
		John Pulman	6				Roy Andrewartha	3
												Ray Reardon	9
												Rex Williams	4
		Rex Williams	9		David Taylor	7
		Doug Mountjoy	8				Rex Williams	9

Final

Final: Best of 31 frames. Referee: Jim Thorpe (first session), John Williams (other sessions) The Guild Hall, Preston, England, 28 and 29 November 1980.
Steve Davis  England	16–6	Alex Higgins  Northern Ireland
First session: 93–29 (69), 107–16, 27–79 (58), 79–16 (60), 26–69, 114–0 (114), 96–29 (95), 65–41, 68–29, 81–24, 28–74 Second session: 60–66, 47–55, 64–10 (64), 81–38 Third session: 74–21 (55), 105–12 (75), 65–32, 62–70 (Davis 61, Higgins 66), 86–34 (75), 97–20, 64–46
114	Highest break	66
1	Century breaks	0
9	50+ breaks	2

Qualifying

[3]

Preliminary round Best of 17 frames

Kingsley Kennerley W/O Jackie Rea

Sid Hood 9–3 Chris Ross

Mike Hallett 9–8 Bernard Bennett

Last 32 Best of 17 frames

Tony Meo 9–5 Sid Hood

Mike Hallett 9–8 Ray Edmonds

Eddie Sinclair 9–1 Kingsley Kennerley

Joe Johnson 9–6 John Dunning

Jim Meadowcroft 9–1 David Greaves

Mark Wildman 9–8 Cliff Wilson

Roy Andrewartha 9–8 Tony Knowles

Rex Williams 9–1 John Barrie

Century breaks

• 134, 109 Alex Higgins
• 118 Tony Meo
• 118 Willie Thorne
• 114 Steve Davis
• 102 Doug Mountjoy
• 102 Ray Reardon

References

1. "1980 UK Championship Player Prize Money". Snooker Database. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
2. "UK Championship". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
3. "1980 UK Championship Results". Snooker Database. Retrieved 13 October 2010.