Snooker legend John Virgo has died aged 79

Snooker legend John Virgo has sadly died today (4 Feb) aged 79.

He was born in Salford in 1946 and became a professional snooker player in 1976, with which he won several tournaments in his career that ended in 1994.

Winning in 1979 at the UK Championship vs Terry Griffiths 14-13, twice in 1980 at the Bombay International where he beat Cliff Thorburn 13-7, and he beat Ray Reardon 9-6. In the same year, he was the runner-up in the Champions of Champions tournament against Doug Mountjoy, who ended up winning 8-10.

In 2023, Virgo was the 35th professional snooker player to be inducted into the World Snooker Tour Hall of Fame. After he hung up his cue, he found himself in snooker game shows like Big Break with Jim Davidson.

John Virgo was a true ambassador for his sport and will be well missed by all of snooker and, of course, his family and close friends.

He died today in Spain from an unknown cause.