Terry Griffiths: Former world snooker champion dies aged 77

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Terry Griffiths, who became the first qualifier to win the world championship in 1979, died at the age of 77 after a long struggle with dementia. He won the Masters in 1980 and the UK Championship in 1982, completing snooker’s ‘Triple Crown’. Griffiths reached a career-high third in the world rankings and was given an OBE in 2007 for his services to the sport. After retiring in 1997, he became an expert coach and regularly commented on snooker for BBC Sport. He inspired Stephen Hendry, Mark Williams and Mark Allen. Griffiths also became well-known as a sharp-witted commentator in later years.

Griffiths’ son Wayne announced on Facebook that his father had died peacefully on December 1 in his favourite South Wales residence. “A proud Welshman, Terry was born in Llanelli, brought pride to Llanelli and now he has found peace in Llanelli. He would not have had it any other way,” Wayne Griffiths wrote. The World Snooker Tour expressed their condolences to his family and many friends, and described Griffiths as “an all-time snooker great”.

Snooker champions who trained under Griffiths expressed their sorrow at his death. Mark Williams, a Welshman who won the world championship three times, remembers him as a “mentor, coach, friend, legend”. “Absolutely heartbroken,” Mark Allen, one of the players mentored by Griffiths, said, “he wasn’t just a coach, he was family.” Judd Trump, the current world number one and 2019 world champion, also paid tribute to Griffiths, describing him as a witty coach. Trump, who won the UK Championship on Sunday, believed Griffiths was a great coach due to his strong, interpersonal relationships with players.

The loss of Griffiths has upset many in the world of snooker, and many admirers have praised his influence on the game. Griffiths will be remembered as a skilled coach and a gifted player who achieved success at the highest level in snooker

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