| Tournament name | 1983 Coral UK Championship |
|---|---|
| Dates | 18 November 1983 – 4 December 1983 |
| Venue | Preston Guild Hall |
| Location | Preston |
| Country | England |
| Organisation | WPBSA |
| Format | Non-ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £60,000 |
| Winners share | £12,000 |
| Highest break | Tony Meo (139) |
| Winner | Alex Higgins |
| Runner up | Steve Davis |
| Score | 16–15 |
| Previous | 1982 |
| Next | 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
Last 32 Best of 17 frames
Terry Griffiths 9–4 Dave Martin
Doug Mountjoy 9–2 Mike Watterson
Alex Higgins 9–6 Murdo MacLeod
Dennis Taylor 9–6 Tommy Murphy
Jimmy White 9–1 Ian Black
Tony Meo 9–7 John Parrott
Willie Thorne 9–5 Mark Wildman
Final
| Final: Best of 31 frames. Referee: Len Ganley The Guild Hall, Preston, England, 3 and 4 December 1983. | ||
| Alex Higgins | 16–15 | Steve Davis |
| 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
- ^ Turner, Chris. "UK Championship". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived 16 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
- ^ "Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
- ^ "UK Championship history". BBC Sport. 2 December 2005. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
- ^ "1983 UK Championship Results". Snooker Database. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
- ^ "UK Championship". Snooker Scene. Archived 24 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 February 2013.