Miles led defending champion Ray Reardon 3–0 and 5–3 in the first round of the 1979 World Championship, but he came down with flu and lost 8–13. Straight after this, Miles defeated Doug Mountjoy 4–3 and Perrie Mans 5–2 in the group stages of the Pontins Professional Event. Miles then beat Steve Davis 4–0 in the semi-final, but lost 4–8 in the final to Doug Mountjoy.