The 1978 UK Championship (officially the 1978 Coral UK Championship) was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place between 22 November and 1 December 1978 at the Guild Hall in Preston, England.[1]

1978 Coral UK Championship
Tournament information
Dates22 November – 1 December 1978 (1978-11-22 – 1978-12-01)
VenuePreston Guild Hall
CityPreston
CountryEngland
OrganisationWPBSA
FormatNon-ranking event
Total prize fund£12,500
Winner's share£3,500
Highest breakEngland Graham Miles (139)
Final
ChampionWales Doug Mountjoy
Runner-upEngland David Taylor
Score15–9
1977
1979

The 1978 tournament was the first of twenty UK Championship competitions to be played in Preston's Guildhall. For the first time, the event was sponsored by Coral who continued to sponsor the UK Championship until 1985.

The most dramatic match came in the qualifying rounds when Terry Griffiths, a newly turned professional, was beaten 8–9 by Rex Williams after leading 8–2. The main stage of the championship also provided plenty of surprises. Patsy Fagan, the defending UK champion, went out 7–9 in the first round to David Taylor who, after a decade in the professional ranks, reached his first major final by beating Alex Higgins 9–5 in the semi-finals. In the other half of the draw, Roy Andrewartha beat John Spencer 9–8 and Willie Thorne beat Ray Reardon 9–6 only to collapse 1–9 against Graham Miles, whose 139 break set a tournament record. In the semi-finals it was Miles' turn to collapse 1–9 to Doug Mountjoy who, keeping his best until last, clinched his final victory over Taylor with a break of 120. The BBC televised the final on their Grandstand programme with Ted Lowe commentating the match.

Main draw

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[1][2][3]

 
Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
              
 
 
 
 
  Patsy Fagan7
 
 
 
  David Taylor9
 
  David Taylor9
 
 
 
  John Virgo2
 
  John Pulman3
 
 
 
  John Virgo9
 
  David Taylor9
 
 
 
  Alex Higgins5
 
  Fred Davis9
 
 
 
  John Dunning2
 
  Fred Davis4
 
 
 
  Alex Higgins9
 
  Alex Higgins9
 
 
 
  Jim Meadowcroft6
 
  David Taylor9
 
 
 
  Doug Mountjoy15
 
  Dennis Taylor4
 
 
 
  Doug Mountjoy9
 
  Doug Mountjoy9
 
 
 
  Roy Andrewartha4
 
  John Spencer8
 
 
 
  Roy Andrewartha9
 
  Doug Mountjoy9
 
 
 
  Graham Miles1
 
  Graham Miles9
 
 
 
  Rex Williams8
 
  Graham Miles9
 
 
 
  Willie Thorne1
 
  Ray Reardon6
 
 
  Willie Thorne9
 

Final

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Final: Best of 29 frames. Referee:
The Guild Hall, Preston, England, 30 November and 1 December 1978.
Doug Mountjoy
  Wales
15–9 David Taylor
  England
First session: 32–61, 76–16, 115–18, 29–75, 47–65 (60), 55–44, 65–33, 62–32, 19–84, 7–74 (55), 46–74, 35–81, 80–34 (68), 74–29 (58), 64–22, 88–33 (50), 57–66 (52), 65–35, 84–51, 58–39, 26–83, 112–33, 90–26 (63), 120–1 (120)
120 Highest break 60
1 Century breaks 0
6 50+ breaks 2

Qualifying

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[1] Last 24 Best of 17 frames

Century breaks

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "1978 UK Championship". Archived from the original on 27 April 2006. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  2. ^ "1978 UK Championship Results". Snooker Database. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  3. ^ "1978 UK Championship Results Grid". Snooker Database. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2010.