1983 UK Championship

1983 Coral UK Championship

Tournament information
Dates	18 November – 4 December 1983 (1983-11-18 – 1983-12-04)
Venue	Preston Guild Hall
City	Preston
Country	England
Organisation	WPBSA
Format	Non-ranking event
Total prize fund	£60,000
Winner's share	£12,000
Highest break	Tony Meo (139)
Final
Champion	Alex Higgins
Runner-up	Steve Davis
Score	16–15
← 1982 1984 →

The 1983 UK Championship (officially the 1983 Coral UK Championship) was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place at the Guild Hall in Preston, England, between 18 November and 4 December 1983. ^[1] This was the seventh edition of the UK Championship, the sixth staging of the competition in Preston, and the sixth UK Championship to be sponsored by Coral. The televised stages were shown on the BBC from 26 November through to the end of the championship and with an extra day of coverage this year with the final now played on Saturday and Sunday, they started with the last remaining last 16 match between Steve Davis and Willie Thorne before showing the quarter-finals.

Alex Higgins staged a dramatic comeback, recovering from 0–7 down to beat Steve Davis 16–15 in the final, ^{[2] [3]} to win his only UK Championship title. ^[1] The highest break of the tournament was a 139 made by Tony Meo.

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:

• Winner: £12,000
• Runner-up £6,500
• Highest break: £1,000
• Total: £60,000

Main draw

^{[4] [5]}

Last 32 Best of 17 frames

Terry Griffiths 9–4 Dave Martin Mike Hallett 9–4 Graham Miles Joe Johnson 9–6 John Virgo David Taylor 9–4 Neal Foulds Tony Knowles 9–5 Tony Jones Doug Mountjoy 9–2 Mike Watterson Alex Higgins 9–6 Murdo MacLeod Paul Medati 9–3 Dean Reynolds

Cliff Wilson 9–4 Rex Williams Ray Reardon 9–7 Bob Harris Dennis Taylor 9–6 Tommy Murphy Jimmy White 9–1 Ian Black John Spencer 9–7 John Dunning Tony Meo 9–7 John Parrott Willie Thorne 9–5 Mark Wildman Steve Davis 9–1 Geoff Foulds

	Round of 16				Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	Terry Griffiths	9
	Mike Hallett	5
					Terry Griffiths	9
					Joe Johnson	2
	Joe Johnson	9
	David Taylor	3
									Terry Griffiths	4
									Alex Higgins	9
	Alex Higgins	9
	Paul Medati	1
					Alex Higgins	9
					Tony Knowles	5
	Tony Knowles	9
	Doug Mountjoy	5
													Alex Higgins	16
													Steve Davis	15
	Jimmy White	9
	Dennis Taylor	4
					Jimmy White	9
					Ray Reardon	4
	Ray Reardon	9
	Cliff Wilson	4
									Jimmy White	4
									Steve Davis	9
	Tony Meo	9
	John Spencer	5
					Tony Meo	4
					Steve Davis	9
	Steve Davis	9
	Willie Thorne	3

Final

Final: Best of 31 frames. Referee: Len Ganley The Guild Hall, Preston, England, 3 and 4 December 1983.
Alex Higgins   Northern Ireland	16–15	Steve Davis   England
First session: 29–107 (78), 31–86 (84), 62–82 (82), 43–56, 25–84 (54), 14–68 (64), 12–76 (67) Second session:109–18, 69–41, 110–12 (76), 46–68, 60–35, 76–18 (70), 73–0, 67–21 Third session:70–29, 0–71, 21–73, 70–57, 38–79 (52), 94–0, 106–9 (62) Fourth session:73–21, 60–72, 87–34, 86–1 (86), 32–71, 14–58, 22–64, 88–24, 77–0
86	Highest break	84
0	Century breaks	0
4	50+ breaks	7

Century breaks

• 139 – Tony Meo
• 119 – Joe Johnson
• 119 – Paul Medati
• 113 – Tony Knowles
• 108 – Steve Davis
• 108 – Jimmy White
• 101 – Ray Reardon

References

1. Turner, Chris. "UK Championship". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
2. "Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins". The Telegraph . Retrieved 13 March 2013.
3. "UK Championship history". BBC Sport . 2 December 2005. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
4. "1983 UK Championship Results". Snooker Database. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
5. "UK Championship". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.