He turned professional in June 1979. At the 1979 Canadian Open he was seeded into the last, where he lost 7-9 to Jim Wych. He eliminated David Taylor from the 1979 UK Championship 9-7, and then lost to the eventual champion John Virgo 6-9 in the following round. He made his world championship debut at the 1980 World Snooker Championship, after progressing past Jimmy van Rensberg and Pat Houlihan (both 9-1) in qualifying. Facing Higgins, Meo was ahead after their first , and at 9–8 was a frame away from winning before Higgins took the last two frames with breaks of 77 and 62 to claim victory. At the 1980 UK Championship, Meo eliminated defending champion John Virgo 9–1 before losing to Steve Davis in the quarter-finals.