Terry Griffiths
Born | (1947-10-16) 16 October 1947 Llanelli, Carmarthenshire |
---|---|
Sport country | Wales |
Professional | 1978–1997 |
Highest ranking | 3 (1981/82) |
Career winnings | £1,209,054 |
Highest break | 140: 1983 Hong Kong Masters |
Century breaks | 86 |
Tournament wins | |
Ranking | 2 |
Non-ranking | 17 |
World Champion | 1979 |
Terrence Martin Griffiths, OBE[1] (born 16 October 1947) is a retired Welsh snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. He won the World Championship in 1979 at the first attempt, and reached the 1988 final. He also won the Masters in 1980 and the UK Championship in 1982, making him one of ten players to have completed snooker's triple crown. He was known for his slow, cautious yet elegant style of play.
Contents
1 Early years
2 Career
3 Coaching career
4 Performance and rankings timeline
5 Career finals
5.1 Ranking finals: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)
5.2 Non-ranking finals: 40 (17 titles, 23 runner-ups)
5.3 Team finals: 5 (2 titles, 3 runner-ups)
5.4 Pro-am finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
5.5 Amateur finals: 4 (3 titles, 1 runner-up)
5.6 Trickshot events
6 Notes
7 References
8 External links
Early years
Griffiths was born in Llanelli. A former postman,[2] insurance salesman, miner and bus conductor, he had a long amateur career, winning the Welsh Amateur Championship in 1975 and the English Amateur Championship in 1977 and 1978 before turning professional.
Career
In his first professional match, at the 1978 UK Championship, he lost 8–9 to Rex Williams after leading 8–1.[3] However, he could hardly have expected what would come in the 1979 World Championships. After qualifying he beat Perrie Mans and Alex Higgins. Interviewed after beating Eddie Charlton in a long semi-final, it suddenly dawned on him what he had done, and he said "I'm in the final now, you know!" in his broad Welsh accent.[4] He went on to beat Dennis Taylor 24–16 in the final, becoming world champion at the first attempt.[5] In the same year he was part of the Welsh team that won the inaugural World Cup of snooker: he, Ray Reardon and Doug Mountjoy beat England 14–3 in the final. But at the end of 1979, he lost 13–14 in the UK Championship final to John Virgo.
1980 started well for Griffiths as he won the Masters, beating Alex Higgins 9–5 in front of 2,323 spectators at the Wembley Conference Centre. It was his first appearance at the Masters and turned out to be his only win there. He then won the Irish Masters also at the first attempt, beating Doug Mountjoy 9–8, but the Crucible curse struck at the World Championships that year, as he lost his second-round match (which was then a 'first round' for the top eight players, who had byes) to Steve Davis.
He retained the World Cup later on in 1980 for Wales and again won the Irish Masters in 1981 before losing to eventual winner Steve Davis again in the World Championship.
He also lost 3–16 to Davis in the UK Championship final in 1981, beginning a six-month period in which he and Davis faced each other in almost every major tournament final. Although Davis had the better of their exchanges, winning three finals, Griffiths triumphed twice, in the Classic in early 1982 and later the Irish Masters (becoming the first player to win three consecutive titles) beating Davis on both occasions (the Classic 9–8 and the Irish Masters 9–5). Unsurprisingly, after Davis was sensationally beaten by Tony Knowles in the first round of the World Championship that year, Griffiths was immediately installed as the bookmakers' favourite for the title. However, a second surprise followed as Griffiths was beaten, also in the first round, by Willie Thorne. At the end of 1982, he won the UK Championship, beating Alex Higgins in a classic 16–15 final. It was still a non-ranking event at that time.
He never again won a ranking event, although he won several major invitational events; the 1984 Malaysian Masters, where he topped a round robin group (Tony Meo was the runner up), the 1984 Singapore Masters, where he also topped a round robin group (Davis was runner up), the 1985 Hong Kong Masters, where he beat Davis 4–2; the 1986 Belgian Classic, where he beat Kirk Stevens 9–7 in the final, in an event featuring 8 of the top 9 in the year's rankings.
He did take the Pot Black title in 1984 and the Welsh Professional Championship between 1985, 1986 and 1988. He reached the final of the World Snooker Championship again also in 1988, defeating Steve Longworth, Willie Thorne, Neal Foulds and Jimmy White but he lost to old rival Steve Davis 11–18. During the final session of the championship, he accidentally knocked over a globe on the Crucible set, denting part of it with his foot: he was awarded the globe at the end of the match. He achieved the notable feat of reaching at least the quarter-finals of the World Championships for nine consecutive years between 1984–1992.
By the 1990s he began to struggle in the rankings but he still reached the semi-final of the 1992 World Championship, with victories over Bob Chaperon, Neal Foulds and Peter Ebdon before losing to Stephen Hendry. Having lost at the Crucible in 1996 against his old rival Steve Davis (whom he never beat at the Crucible in 7 attempts) in the last 16 (after beating the young Scottish player Jamie Burnett in a final frame decider 10–9 in the first round, having trailed 0–6 and 5–9), he immediately announced his retirement from the game.
Unusually for a snooker player Griffiths retired whilst still inside the top 32 and 23rd in the rankings.[6] This was despite only entering the 1997 world championship qualifiers in his final season as a professional.[7] He won this match and qualified to play at the Crucible one last time. He lost that match to fellow countryman and debutant Mark Williams, in another final-frame decider, 9–10. This meant that he played a total of 999 frames at the Crucible.[8]
Coaching career
Griffiths is well known as a coach and has coached many top players. Having retired from professional play in 1997, he currently coaches top players such as Mark Williams, Marco Fu, Mark Allen, Ali Carter, Joe Perry, Barry Hawkins and Ding Junhui,[9] and in the past has coached Stephen Hendry and Stephen Maguire. He is the Director of Coaching at the South West Snooker Academy.[10] He also frequently commentates on snooker for the BBC.
Performance and rankings timeline
Tournament | 1978/ 79 | 1979/ 80 | 1980/ 81 | 1981/ 82 | 1982/ 83 | 1983/ 84 | 1984/ 85 | 1985/ 86 | 1986/ 87 | 1987/ 88 | 1988/ 89 | 1989/ 90 | 1990/ 91 | 1991/ 92 | 1992/ 93 | 1993/ 94 | 1994/ 95 | 1995/ 96 | 1996/ 97 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ranking[11] | [nb 1] | 8 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 15 | 23 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Asian Classic[nb 2] | Tournament Not Held | NR | A | QF | 2R | QF | 2R | 2R | QF | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Grand Prix[nb 3] | Tournament Not Held | QF | 3R | 1R | QF | 3R | 3R | QF | 1R | 2R | QF | SF | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UK Championship | Non-Ranking Event | 1R | QF | 3R | QF | SF | SF | 2R | 3R | 1R | QF | 3R | 2R | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German Open | Tournament Not Held | 1R | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Welsh Open | Tournament Not Held | 3R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
International Open[nb 4] | Not Held | NR | QF | SF | 2R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 1R | 2R | Not Held | 3R | 3R | 3R | 1R | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
European Open | Tournament Not Held | F | 1R | 2R | SF | 2R | 1R | QF | 2R | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thailand Open[nb 5] | Tournament Not Held | Non-Ranking Event | Not Held | SF | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
British Open[nb 6] | NH | Non-Ranking Event | 2R | QF | 3R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 3R | QF | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Championship | W | 2R | QF | 1R | 2R | QF | QF | QF | QF | F | QF | QF | QF | SF | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Non-ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Scottish Masters | Not Held | A | SF | QF | QF | A | A | F | NH | F | F | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Charity Challenge | Tournament Not Held | SF | 1R | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Masters | A | W | F | F | QF | F | SF | QF | 1R | QF | QF | 1R | SF | 1R | 1R | 1R | QF | WR | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Irish Masters | A | W | W | W | SF | F | 1R | 1R | SF | SF | QF | SF | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
European League[nb 7] | Tournament Not Held | A | Not Held | RR | RR | RR | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Canadian Masters[nb 8] | Non-Ranking | Tournament Not Held | Non-Ranking | QF | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hong Kong Open[nb 9] | NH | Ranking Event | NH | 2R | Tournament Not Held | Ranking | NH | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Classic | NH | Non-Ranking Event | QF | QF | 1R | QF | QF | 3R | 1R | 1R | 3R | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strachan Open | Tournament Not Held | 2R | MR | NR | Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former non-ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Champion of Champions | A | NH | RR | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
International Open[nb 10] | Not Held | QF | Ranking Event | Not Held | Ranking Event | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northern Ireland Classic | Not Held | SF | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Classic | NH | SF | QF | W | 1R | Ranking Event | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UK Championship | 1R | F | SF | F | W | SF | Ranking Event | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
British Open[nb 11] | NH | RR | RR | F | 2R | 2R | Ranking Event | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Australian Masters[nb 12] | NH | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | SF | A | NH | R | Tournament Not Held | A | A | NH | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thailand Masters | Tournament Not Held | SF | F | F | F | Not Held | Ranking Event | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Canadian Masters[nb 13] | A | F | F | Tournament Not Held | QF | A | QF | R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Asian Classic[nb 14] | Tournament Not Held | QF | Ranking Event | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Matchroom Professional Championship | Tournament Not Held | SF | 1R | QF | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Welsh Professional Championship | NH | SF | SF | F | SF | SF | W | W | SF | W | F | QF | QF | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Seniors Championship | Tournament Not Held | SF | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Matchplay | Tournament Not Held | QF | QF | SF | QF | 1R | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pot Black | A | RR | A | A | A | W | QF | 1R | Tournament Not Held | 1R | QF | QF | Not Held |
Performance Table Legend | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
LQ | lost in the qualifying draw | #R | lost in the early rounds of the tournament (WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin) | QF | lost in the quarter-finals |
SF | lost in the semi-finals | F | lost in the final | W | won the tournament |
DNQ | did not qualify for the tournament | A | did not participate in the tournament | WD | withdrew from the tournament |
NH / Not Held | means an event was not held. | |||
NR / Non-Ranking Event | means an event is/was no longer a ranking event. | |||
R / Ranking Event | means an event is/was a ranking event. |
^ New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.
^ The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Dubai Classic (1989/90–1994/1995) and Thailand Classic (1995/1996)
^ The event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1982/83–1983/1984)
^ The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
^ The event was also called the Thailand Masters (1983/1984–1986/1987 & 1991/1992) and the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993)
^ The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
^ The event was also called the Matchroom League (1986/1987–1991/1992)
^ The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)
^ The event was also called the Australian Masters (1979/1980–1987/1988) and Australian Open (1994/1995)
^ The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
^ The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
^ The event was also called the Hong Kong Open (1989/1990) and Australian Open (1994/1995)
^ The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)
^ The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989)
Career finals
Ranking finals: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)
Legend |
World Championship (1–1) |
Other (0–1) |
Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 1. | 1979 | World Championship | Dennis Taylor | 24–16 |
Runner-up | 1. | 1988 | World Championship | Steve Davis | 11–18 |
Runner-up | 2. | 1989 | European Open | John Parrott | 8–9 |
Non-ranking finals: 40 (17 titles, 23 runner-ups)
Legend |
UK Championship (1–2) [nb 1] |
The Masters (1–3) |
Other (15–19) |
Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 1. | 1979 | Canadian Open | Cliff Thorburn | 16–17 |
Runner-up | 2. | 1979 | UK Championship | John Virgo | 13–14 |
Winner | 1. | 1980 | The Masters | Alex Higgins | 9–5 |
Winner | 2. | 1980 | Irish Masters | Doug Mountjoy | 10–9 |
Runner-up | 3. | 1980 | Canadian Open (2) | Cliff Thorburn | 10–17 |
Runner-up | 4. | 1981 | The Masters | Alex Higgins | 6–9 |
Winner | 3. | 1981 | Irish Masters (2) | Ray Reardon | 9–7 |
Winner | 4. | 1981 | Pontins Professional | Willie Thorne | 9–8 |
Runner-up | 5. | 1981 | UK Championship (2) | Steve Davis | 3–16 |
Winner | 5. | 1982 | The Classic | Steve Davis | 9–8 |
Runner-up | 6. | 1982 | The Masters (2) | Steve Davis | 5–9 |
Runner-up | 7. | 1982 | Welsh Professional Championship | Doug Mountjoy | 8–9 |
Runner-up | 8. | 1982 | International Masters | Steve Davis | 7–9 |
Winner | 6. | 1982 | Irish Masters (3) | Steve Davis | 9–5 |
Winner | 7. | 1982 | UK Championship | Alex Higgins | 16–15 |
Runner-up | 9. | 1983 | Tolly Cobbold Classic | Steve Davis | 5–7 |
Runner-up | 10. | 1983 | Hong Kong Masters | Doug Mountjoy | 3–4 |
Winner | 8. | 1984 | Pot Black | John Spencer | 2–1 |
Runner-up | 11. | 1984 | The Masters (3) | Jimmy White | 5–9 |
Runner-up | 12. | 1984 | Irish Masters | Steve Davis | 1–9 |
Runner-up | 13. | 1984 | Thailand Masters | Jimmy White | 3–4 |
Winner | 9. | 1984 | Malaysian Masters | Tony Meo | [nb 2] |
Winner | 10. | 1984 | Singapore Masters | Steve Davis | [nb 2] |
Winner | 11. | 1985 | Welsh Professional Championship | Doug Mountjoy | 9–4 |
Winner | 12. | 1985 | Pontins Professional (2) | John Spencer | 9–7 |
Winner | 13. | 1985 | Hong Kong Masters | Steve Davis | 4–2 |
Runner-up | 14. | 1985 | Thailand Masters (2) | Dennis Taylor | 0–4 |
Runner-up | 15. | 1985 | Singapore Masters | Steve Davis | 2–4 |
Winner | 14. | 1986 | Belgian Classic | Kirk Stevens | 9–7 |
Winner | 15. | 1986 | Welsh Professional Championship (2) | Doug Mountjoy | 9–3 |
Winner | 16. | 1986 | Pontins Professional (3) | Willie Thorne | 9–6 |
Runner-up | 16. | 1986 | Thailand Masters (3) | James Wattana | 1–2 |
Runner-up | 17. | 1986 | China Masters | Steve Davis | 0–3 |
Runner-up | 18. | 1987 | Tokyo Masters | Dennis Taylor | 3–6 |
Runner-up | 19. | 1987 | Scottish Masters | Joe Johnson | 7–9 |
Winner | 17. | 1988 | Welsh Professional Championship (3) | Wayne Jones | 9–3 |
Runner-up | 20. | 1989 | Welsh Professional Championship (2) | Doug Mountjoy | 6–9 |
Runner-up | 21. | 1989 | Scottish Masters (2) | Stephen Hendry | 1–10 |
Runner-up | 22. | 1990 | Scottish Masters (3) | Stephen Hendry | 6–10 |
Runner-up | 23. | 1997 | Seniors Pot Black | Joe Johnson | 0–2 |
Team finals: 5 (2 titles, 3 runner-ups)
Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Team/partner | Opponent(s) in the final | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 1. | 1979 | World Challenge Cup | Wales | England | 14–3 |
Winner | 2. | 1980 | World Challenge Cup (2) | Wales | Canada | 8–5 |
Runner-up | 1. | 1981 | World Team Classic | Wales | England | 3–4 |
Runner-up | 2. | 1982 | World Doubles Championship | Doug Mountjoy | Steve Davis Tony Meo | 2–13 |
Runner-up | 3. | 1983 | World Team Classic (2) | Wales | England | 2–4 |
Pro-am finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 1. | 1977 | Pontins Spring Open | Alex Higgins | 4–7 |
Winner | 1. | 1983 | Pontins Spring Open | Ray Reardon | 7–3 |
Amateur finals: 4 (3 titles, 1 runner-up)
Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 1. | 1972 | Welsh Amateur Championship | Geoff Thomas | 2–6 |
Winner | 1. | 1975 | Welsh Amateur Championship | Geoff Thomas | 8–7 |
Winner | 2. | 1977 | English Amateur Championship | Sid Hood | 13–3 |
Winner | 3. | 1978 | English Amateur Championship | Joe Johnson | 13–6 |
Trickshot events
World Trickshot (1992, 1994)
Notes
^ The UK Championship did not become a ranking event until 1984
^ ab No play-off. Winner decided via a league format.
References
^ "Terry Griffiths receives an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours". Retrieved 16 June 2009
^ "1979: Griffiths creates miracle". BBC. 12 April 2002. Retrieved 15 July 2008..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ "Where are they now? – Terry Griffiths". Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on 15 August 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2008.
^ "Hall of Fame – Terry Griffiths". BBC. Archived from the original on 6 March 2005. Retrieved 14 July 2008.
^ "A Profile for Terry Griffiths". Terry Griffiths Snooker. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
^ "Still POTTY after all these years. – Free Online Library". Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
^ "Interview with Terry Griffiths (part 1 of 2) " Snooker Island Blog". Snookerisland.com. 25 November 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
^ "Crucible 2008 – some potential milestones". BBC. 11 March 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
^ "Griffiths to coach six players". World Snooker. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
^ "Coaching". South West Snooker Academy. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
External links
- Profile at World Snooker
- Terry Griffiths' Official Site
- http://www.worldsnooker.com/players/terry-griffiths/