As he was left-eye dominant, the right-handed Miles developed an idiosyncratic sighting style with his cue crossing his chin on the left side.
[3] This form continued in January 1979, when he reached the final of the Holsten Lager International by defeating John Pulman, Dennis Taylor and Alex Higgins.
[4] Miles led defending champion Ray Reardon 3–0 and 5–3 in the first round of the 1979 World Championship, but he came down with flu and lost 8–13.
[5] Straight after this, Miles defeated Doug Mountjoy 4–3 and Perrie Mans 5–2 in the group stages of the Pontins Professional Event.
[6] At the inaugural World Team Cup, Miles represented England along with John Spencer and Fred Davis, where they reached the final only to be beaten 3–14 by Wales.