Terry Griffiths

Terry Griffiths
OBE

Griffiths in 1991
Born	(1947-10-16) 16 October 1947 (age 77) Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Sport country	Wales
Nickname	Griff[1]
Professional	1978–1997
Highest ranking	3 (1981/82)
Tournament wins
Ranking	1
World Champion	1979

Terence Martin Griffiths OBE (born 16 October 1947) 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. 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.

Griffiths reached at least the quarter-finals of the World Championship for nine consecutive years, from 1984 to 1992. He also won the Masters in 1980 and the UK Championship in 1982, completing snooker's Triple Crown. Griffiths was runner-up at the Masters three times and reached the final of the 1989 European Open, where he lost the deciding frame to John Parrott.

Although he also won several other tournaments, Griffiths's determination to match his rival Davis led to changes in technique which commentators have said cost him his natural flair for playing. He announced his retirement from professional snooker in 1996 to become the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association's director of coaching, and developed a coaching career which has included working with leading players Stephen Hendry, Mark Williams and Ding Junhui.