John Virgo arrived early for snooker’s golden age – but his unintended tardiness almost cost him his crowning moment on the baize.
Virgo, who has died at the age of 79, is best known for questioning the destination of the cue ball during more than three decades of commentating on the sport on the BBC.
But his top-level playing career peaked in 1979 when he reached the semi-finals of the World Championship and then pipped Terry Griffiths seven months later to clinch the UK Championship.
Later generations may best recall Virgo for his suitably shambolic interval impressions of rival players or his clownish antics on the snooker-themed game show
But he earned his greatest anecdote when he was docked two frames for arriving late for the final session of the match that would ultimately yield – just about – his only major title.
Virgo, who led 11-7, failed to realise the conclusion had been brought forward to accommodate BBC coverage, leading to a mad dash to the venue and a lead cut to 11-9 without the cue ball going anywhere.
Spurred on by Griffiths’ magnanimous offer to split the prize money after the Welshman had drawn level at 11-11, Virgo roused himself to earn a 14-13 win and an illustrious place among the sport’s ‘triple crown’ champions.
So sad we will never get to hear this iconic commentary line again ⚪️ #JohnVirgo #Snooker @jvofficialjv
— Francis Keogh (@HonestFrank) February 4, 2026
The irony was not lost on Virgo that a subsequent strike by BBC technicians meant the best moment of his playing career went unrecorded.
“It was the only major I won and it was the best and worst day of my life,” Virgo told the Mirror in 2024.
Somewhat of a bit-part player in the Steve Davis-led snooker revolution that followed, Virgo nevertheless hung around the top 16 until 1990 before retiring to commit to a broadcasting career four years later.
Already well known for his impressions, including a memorably twitchy Alex Higgins and a shrugging Ray Reardon, that were wheeled out in those awkward moments when sessions ended early, Virgo was well-placed to ease into a more celebrity-driven environment.
He became a household name as the co-presenter alongside Jim Davidson of Big Break, a popular show that paired top players with punters in pursuit of prizes and included a trick-shot section that Virgo would urge contestants to replicate.
Virgo became one of the sport’s best-loved commentators, best known for his trademark cry of ‘Where’s the cue ball going?’ as it careered haplessly towards a pocket.
It was a mark of his popularity that there was an outcry when it was revealed the BBC planned to axe Virgo and Dennis Taylor from their team in 2022.
The corporation was forced into a U-turn and Virgo was still commentating up to last month when he called Kyren Wilson’s Masters win over John Higgins.
Virgo, who was born in Salford in 1946 and died in Spain, where he had lived in recent years, is survived by his wife Rosie and children Gary and Brook-Leah.
