Virgo's snooker-playing fortunes peaked in 1979 when he reached the semi-final of the World Championship, and went on to win the 1979 UK Championship (though this was not a ranking event at the time). En route to the final, he beat Tony Meo, Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor. He overcame the reigning world champion Terry Griffiths in the final, despite being controversially docked two frames because of a miscommunication regarding the start time of the next session of play. He reached his highest ranking, world number 10, during the 1979–80 season.