# 1980 UK Championship

The 1980 UK Championship (officially the 1980 Coral UK Championship) 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.
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

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

## Main draw

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

## 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

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