Raymond Reardon is a Welsh retired professional snooker player. He turned professional in 1967 aged 35 and dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning the World Snooker Championship six times and more than a dozen other tournaments. Reardon was World Champion in 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1978, and runner-up in 1982. He won the inaugural Pot Black tournament in 1969, the 1976 Masters and the 1982 Professional Players Tournament.
Terence Martin Griffiths is a Welsh retired professional snooker player and current coach and pundit. After winning several amateur titles, including the Welsh Amateur Championship in 1975 and back-to-back English Amateur Championships in 1977 and 1978, Griffiths turned professional in June 1978 at the age of 30. In his second professional tournament, he qualified for the 1979 World Snooker Championship. He reached the final of the event where he defeated Dennis Taylor by 24 frames to 16. It was the only ranking event victory of his career. This was only the second time a qualifier had won the World Snooker Championship, after Alex Higgins in 1972; only Shaun Murphy in 2005 has since emulated the achievement. In 1988, Griffiths again reached the final of the competition. He was tied with Steve Davis, 8–8, but lost the match 11–18.
Clifford Charles Devlin Thorburn is a Canadian retired professional snooker player. Nicknamed "The Grinder" because of his slow, determined style of play, he won the World Snooker Championship in 1980, defeating Alex Higgins 18–16 in the final. He is generally recognised as the sport's first world champion from outside the United Kingdom—since Australian Horace Lindrum's 1952 title is usually disregarded—and he remains the only world champion from the Americas. He was runner-up in two other world championships, losing 21–25 to John Spencer in the 1977 final and 6–18 to Steve Davis in the 1983 final. At the 1983 tournament, Thorburn became the first player to make a maximum break in a World Championship match, achieving the feat in his second-round encounter with Terry Griffiths.
Doug Mountjoy was a Welsh snooker player from Tir-y-Berth, Gelligaer, Wales. He was a member of the professional snooker circuit from the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, and remained within the top 16 of the world rankings for 11 consecutive years. He began his professional snooker career by taking the 1977 Masters, which he entered as a reserve player. He won both the 1978 UK Championship and the 1979 Irish Masters. Mountjoy reached the final of the 1981 World Snooker Championship where he was defeated by Steve Davis. He was also runner-up at the 1985 Masters losing to Cliff Thorburn, but by 1988 he had dropped out of the top 16.
The Welsh Open is a professional ranking snooker tournament that has been held annually since 1992. It replaced the Welsh Professional Championship, which ran annually from 1980 to 1991 and was open only to Welsh players. The Welsh Open is now the longest running ranking event after the World Championship and the UK Championship. Since the 2016–17 season, it has been one of four tournaments in the Home Nations Series, alongside the Northern Ireland Open, the Scottish Open, and the English Open. Since 2017, the winner of the event has received the Ray Reardon Trophy, named after the Welsh six-time world champion. Reardon himself presented the newly named trophy to 2017 winner Stuart Bingham.
Clifford Wilson was a Welsh professional snooker player who reached the highest ranking of 16, in 1988-89. He was the 1978 World Amateur Champion and won the 1991 World Seniors Championship. He was a successful junior player, known for his fast attacking snooker and potting ability, and won the British Under-19 Championship in 1951 and 1952. In the early 1950s both Wilson and future six-times World Professional Champion Ray Reardon lived in Tredegar, where they played a succession of money matches that attracted large enthusiastic crowds.
The 1981 World Snooker Championship, was a ranking professional snooker tournament which took place from 7 April to 20 April 1981 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The tournament was the 1981 edition of the World Snooker Championship, and was the fifth consecutive world championship to take place at the Crucible Theatre since 1977. It was sanctioned by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. The total prize fund for the tournament was £75,000, of which £20,000 went to the winner.
Mark Bennett is a Welsh former professional snooker player from Newport.
Steve Newbury is a former Welsh professional snooker player from Neath.
Roy Andrewartha was a Welsh professional snooker player.
The 1980 Woodpecker Welsh Professional Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place between 27 and 29 January 1980 at the Ebbw Vale Leisure Centre in Ebbw Vale, Wales.
The 1982 Woodpecker Welsh Professional Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place between 24 and 28 February 1982 at the Ebbw Vale Leisure Centre in Ebbw Vale, Wales.
The 1983 Woodpecker Welsh Professional Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place between 16 and 20 February 1983 at the Ebbw Vale Leisure Centre in Ebbw Vale, Wales.
The 1984 Strongbow Welsh Professional Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place between 7 and 11 March 1984 at the Ebbw Vale Leisure Centre in Ebbw Vale, Wales.
The 1985 BCE Welsh Professional Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place in May 1985.
The 1986 Zetters Welsh Professional Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place between 10 and 14 February 1986 at the Abertillery Leisure Centre in Abertillery, Wales.
The 1988 Senator Windows Welsh Professional Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place between 8 and 12 February 1988 at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales.
The 1989 Senator Windows Welsh Professional Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place between 13 and 18 February 1989 at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales.
The 1990 Senator Windows Welsh Professional Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place between 12 and 17 February 1990 at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales.
The 1991 Regal Welsh Professional Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place between 10 and 15 February 1991 at the Newport Centre in Newport, Wales. This was the final edition of the tournament.
Doug Mountjoy (WAL) (108) [2]