[3] In the 1985 Matchroom Trophy, Duggan defeated veteran Fred Davis, Ray Reardon, Ian Black and Willie Thorne 5–4 before losing in the quarter-finals, 2–5 to Cliff Thorburn.
[3] This marked the best run of Duggan's career up to, and after, that point, and helped improve his world ranking for the 1986–87 season to 35th.
At the British Open that year, he lost 2–5 to Thorne in the last 32, and he was eliminated 3–10 by Tony Chappel in the qualifying competition for the 1987 World Snooker Championship.
[5] The 1988–89 snooker season saw Duggan reach the last 32 of the 1988 International Open, Grand Prix, Canadian Masters, and UK Championship.
[6] He had defeated Fred Davis, John Spencer and Mark Rowing in the qualifying rounds.