Griffiths and his Wales team-mates retained the 1980 World Challenge Cup for Wales, and he again won the Irish Masters in 1981 before losing to eventual winner Davis in the quarter-finals of the 1981 World Snooker Championship. Griffiths lost 3–16 to Davis in the 1981 UK Championship final, the first of five finals in consecutive events contested by the pair. Griffiths triumphed in two of the five, winning on the final black, 9–8 in the deciding frame of the 1982 Classic after Davis had recovered from 3–8 to 8–8. He also won the Irish Masters, defeating Davis 9–5. After Davis was unexpectedly defeated by Tony Knowles in the first round of the World Championship that year, Griffiths became the bookmakers' favourite for the title. However, he also lost in the first round, to Willie Thorne. At the end of 1982, he won the UK Championship, defeating Alex Higgins 16–15 in the final.