Tournament Summary
- Griffiths won the title. He started by defeating Bernard Bennett and Jim Meadowcroft in the qualifying rounds. At the Crucible, he defeated Perrie Mans in the first round, followed by a 13–12 victory over Alex Higgins in the quarter-final. In the semi-final, he was trailing 16–17 to Eddie Charlton before winning 19–17 at 1.40am, the latest finish of any match at the time. Griffiths then beat future champion Dennis Taylor 24–16 in the final to win the world title at the first attempt. He was also the first qualifier to win the title at the Crucible.
- Future six-times champion Steve Davis and Kirk Stevens made their debut, but they lost in the first 11–13 to Dennis Taylor and 8–13 to Fred Davis respectively.
- Aged 65 years and 247 days Fred Davis became the oldest ever player to win a match at the Crucible. Only three days latter he also became the oldest player to reach the quarter-finals.
- John Williams refereed the final.
Read more about this topic: 1979 World Snooker Championship
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