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Former snooker world champion Terry Griffiths, father of Hong Kong coach Wayne, dies at 77

The Welshman, who was a frequent visitor to Hong Kong in the 1980-90s, won the world title in 1979 and completed the ‘Triple Crown’ in 1982

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Former snooker world champion Terry Griffiths (left) and his son and Hong Kong coach Wayne Griffiths.

Former world snooker champion Terry Griffiths has died at the age of 77 after battling dementia, his family confirmed on Sunday.

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Griffiths claimed the world title in 1979 and went on to win the Masters in 1980 and the UK Championship in 1982, to complete the snooker “Triple Crown”.

The Welshman remained at the top of his game throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, reaching at least the quarter-finals of the World Championships nine years in a row and the final in 1988.

Griffiths’ son Wayne has been head coach of billiard sports at the Hong Kong Sports Institute since 2010 and is part of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association’s International Expert Coaching Advisory Panel, which was set up in 2021.

Terry Griffiths was a regular visitor to Hong Kong in the late 1980s and early ’90s.

Terry Griffiths (right) won the Hong Kong Camus Masters Snooker Tournament in 1985.
Terry Griffiths (right) won the Hong Kong Camus Masters Snooker Tournament in 1985.

Wayne Griffiths wrote on Facebook: “Terry Griffiths OBE passed away peacefully on 1st December, after a lengthy battle with dementia. He was surrounded by his family in his beloved hometown in South Wales.

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