The 1985–86 snooker season saw Griffiths claim the Welsh Professional Championship for the first time. He also won the 1986 Belgian Classic, where he beat Kirk Stevens 9–7 in the final. At the 1986 World Snooker Championship, he led Joe Johnson 12–9 in their quarter-final, but Johnson claimed the next four frames, making two century breaks on the way to a 13–12 victory, and went on to win the title. Two months before the championship, Griffiths had started working with coach Frank Callan, and, after eliminating Higgins in the last 16, praised Callan for helping his game, saying that "I tried to do the right things myself for three years ... Frank has knitted it all together for me. I didn't think anyone knew that much about snooker." He ended the season by winning the 1986 Pontins Professional, defeating Willie Thorne in the final.