1981 World Team Classic
The 1981 World Team Classic sponsored by State Express was the new name of the team snooker tournament. It moved to the Hexagon Theatre in Reading and it had now has seven teams competing with Ireland playing in their own countries and Scotland competed for the first time which they lost to the Republic of Ireland in a play off to reach the round obin stage of the competition. All matches including the final were now played in the best of six matches with a tie break frame between the captains if it stayed 3-3. England won their first title with captain Steve Davis winning three of the four matches against Eddie Charlton of Australia, Dennis Taylor of Northern Ireland and Ray Reardon of Wales in the final.Main draw
Teams
Country | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
| Ray Reardon | Terry Griffiths | Doug Mountjoy |
| Steve Davis | John Spencer | David Taylor |
| Alex Higgins | Dennis Taylor | Tommy Murphy |
| Cliff Thorburn | Bill Werbeniuk | Kirk Stevens |
| Eddie Charlton | Paddy Morgan | Ian Anderson |
| Patsy Fagan | Dessie Sheehan | Eugene Hughes |
| Eddie Sinclair | Matt Gibson | Ian Black |
Qualifying Round
Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Date |
Republic of Ireland | 4–2 | Scotland | |
Group A
Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Date |
England | 4–3 | Australia | |
Northern Ireland | 4–1 | Australia | |
England | 4–3 | Northern Ireland | |
Group B
Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Date |
Wales | 4–2 | Canada | |
Wales | 4–0 | Republic of Ireland | |
Canada | 4–2 | Republic of Ireland | |
Semi-Finals
Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Date |
England | 4–2 | Canada | |
Wales | 4–3 | Northern Ireland | |
Final