In early 1979 Davis met Alex Higgins in the final of the Castle Open (an event hosted at Bernard Bennett's club in Southampton). During the World Championship that year he beat Kirk Stevens 13–8 to progress to the quarter-finals. This match was to be his last victory at the Crucible Theatre, but Davis compiled the first century of the championship, a break of 109 in the sixth frame — an effort even applauded by the referee. In the quarter-final against Eddie Charlton, Davis soon fell 5–0 behind; he later admitted that he unwisely played an attacking game. This style enabled him to make a break of 110 in the eighth frame to reduce his arrears from 6–1 to 6–2, but he lost the match 13–4.