1973 World Snooker Championship

1973 Park Drive World Snooker Championship 1973 04 16 1973 04 28 y City Exhibition Halls Manchester England WPBSA Single elimination £8,000 £1,500 John Spencer ENG (139) Ray Reardon WAL Eddie Charlton AUS 38–32 1972 1974 The 1973 World Snooker Championship (also known as the 1973 Park Drive World Snooker Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a snooker tournament that took place from 16 to 28 April 1973 at the City Exhibition Halls in Manchester, England. The scheduling was a change of practice from championships in the preceding years, which had taken place over several months. The tournament was the 1973 edition of the World Snooker Championship established in 1927. The 1973 tournament was promoted by Peter West and Patrick Nally, and sponsored by tobacco brand Park Drive, with £8,000 prize money. There were 24 entrants, which was a new championship record. Ray Reardon won the title by defeating Eddie Charlton 38 frames to 32 in the final. It was Reardon's second World Championship win, after his first in 1970. He won a further four titles after the 1973 championship, the last of them in 1978. Defending champion Alex Higgins lost 9–13 to Charlton in the semi-finals. Higgins's quarter-final match against Fred Davis was interrupted when rainwater leaked onto the snooker table they were using. There were six century breaks during the competition, the highest of which was a 139 break compiled by John Spencer. Background The World Snooker Championship is a professional tournament and the official world championship of the game of snooker.Snooker championship Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer 11 May 1927 12 March 2019 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000687/19270511/425/0020 20 British Newspaper Archive subscription The sport was developed in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India.Hayton Eric Dee John 2004 The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History Rose Villa Publications 978-0-9548549-0-4 1 Professional English billiards player and billiard hall manager Joe Davis noticed the increasing popularity of snooker compared to billiards in the 1920s, and with Birmingham-based billiards equipment manager Bill Camkin, persuaded the Billiards Association and Control Council (BACC) to recognise an official professional snooker championship in the 1926–27 season.Everton Clive 23 September 2004 Davis, Joseph [Joe] https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-31013 10.1093/ref:odnb/31013 11 May 2020 subscription https://web.archive.org/web/20190903050418/https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-31013 3 September 2019 live In 1927, the final of the first professional snooker championship was held at Camkin's Hall; Davis won the tournament.Morrison Ian 1987 The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker Hamlyn Publishing Group London 978-0-600-55604-6 27–30 The annual competition was not titled the World Championship until 1935,Billiards – Professional title Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer 3 November 1934 24 November 2015 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000687/19341103/342/0007 7 British Newspaper Archive subscription but the 1927 tournament is now referred to as the first World Snooker Championship.Everton Clive 1993 The Embassy Book of World Snooker Bloomsbury London 978-0-7475-1610-1 11–13History of snooker – a timeline https://wpbsa.com/about-us/history/ World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association 29 May 2021 7 January 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210107025119/https://wpbsa.com/about-us/history/ live In 1952, following a dispute between the Professional Billiards Players' Association (PBPA) and the BACC about the distribution of income from the world championship, the PBPA members established an alternative competition known as the World Professional Match-play Championship, the editions of which are now recognised as world championships, whilst only two players entered for the BACC's 1952 World Snooker Championship.Williams Luke Gadsby Paul 2005 Masters of the Baize Edinburgh Mainstream 978-1-84018-872-1 47Turner Chris World Professional Championship http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/world.html https://web.archive.org/web/20130416080933/http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/world.html 16 April 2013 cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk Chris Turner's Snooker Archive 9 February 2011 The World Professional Match-play Championship continued until 1957, after which there was no world championship until 1964, when it was staged on a challenge basis, with defending champion John Pulman featuring in the first match.Morrison Ian 1989 Snooker: records, facts and champions Guinness Superlatives Ltd 978-0-85112-364-6 8Hale Janice 1991 Rothmans Snooker Yearbook 1991–92 Aylesbury Queen Anne Press 978-0-356-19747-0 294–295 Pulman retained the title in several challenges from 1964 to 1968. The 1969 championship, when the tournament reverted to a knockout format, is regarded as the first of the modern snooker era, and was won by John Spencer. John Higgins eyes more crucible titles https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/snooker/5276218/John-Higgins-eyes-more-Crucible-titles.html The Daily Telegraph London 5 May 2009 13 April 2020 registration "the modern era, which began in 1969 when the World Championship became a knockout event." https://web.archive.org/web/20100430020307/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/snooker/5276218/John-Higgins-eyes-more-Crucible-titles.html 30 April 2010 livePitt Nick Snooker: Pocket man O'Sullivan eager to chalk up another title: The champion is in irresistible form as he starts his defence at the Crucible The Sunday Times 20 April 2014 13 "in the modern era since 1969"Hayton Eric Dee John 2004 The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History Rose Villa Publications Lowestoft 978-0-9548549-0-4 7 "the world championship ... took on the modern day look during the 1968–69 season"The Times 24 March 1969 12 Snooker From 1972, the championship was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), which was the renamed PBPA.Kobylecky John 2019 The Complete International Directory of Snooker Players – 1927 to 2018 Kobyhadrian Books 978-0-9931433-1-1 225–226 For 1973, the tournament was sponsored by Park Drive.35 The defending champion was Alex Higgins, who had defeated Spencer 37–31 in the 1972 final.8 Tournament Format The 1973 competition took place over two weeks, rather than the months it had taken to complete previous championships in the preceding years. It was promoted by Peter West and Patrick Nally, and sponsored by tobacco brand Park Drive, with £8,000 prize money. There were 24 entrants, a new championship record. The venue was City Exhibition Halls, Manchester, initially with concurrent play across eight different snooker tables in different parts of the Halls. Sessions were scheduled at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm each day. In order to break even, the event required 15,000 paying spectators across the matches;Cash registers Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham April 1973 3 the actual attendance was 25,000. For the first time, a major bookmaker, Ladbrokes, offered odds on a snooker tournament.We gotta player Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham April 1973 3 At the start of the tournament, the bookmakers rated Spencer as the favourite to win, at odds of 9–4, with Higgins second at 3–1.Corbett Ted I'll keep my title, vows 'Hurricane' Daily Mirror 16 April 1973 32 Prize fund The winner of the event received £1,500 from a total prize fund of £8,000. The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below.World Championship Snooker Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham February 1973 3–4 Everton Clive Silverton John Park Drive Official Snooker And Billiards Year book Gallagher Ltd 1972 89 Winner: £1,500 Runner-up: £1,000 Third: £750No record of a third-place playoff match was found in sources consulted. Fourth: £600 Quarter-finalists: £400 Second round losers: £200 First round losers: £100 £100 was allocated for the winner of the plate competition between losers in the first two rounds, with £50 for the runner-up. John Pulman won the plate competition.Plate Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham June 1974 18 No other record of the plate competition was found in sources consulted. First round First round matches were scheduled as best-of-17 frames, taking place on 16 April 1973.Park Drive world professional snooker championship Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham March 1973 4 Jackie Rea's cue, which he had used since the age of nine, was stolen a few days before his match against Pat Houlihan, and it was returned to him only near the end of their contest.Now only Higgins left in Belfast Telegraph 17 April 1973 19 Houlihan took a 2–0 lead, and Rea drew level at 2–2, but he then lost seven frames in a row and was eliminated from the competition.Houlihan crushes Rea Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham May 1973 4 Bernard Bennett led 7–2 against David Greaves before the match went to a deciding frame, which Greaves won. Graham Miles made the highest break of the first round, 87, in his 9–5 defeat of Geoff Thompson. Cliff Thorburn and Dennis Taylor made their world championship debuts; both players later became world champions.Cliff Thorburn at the World Championship http://www.snookerdatabase.co.uk/PlayerDetails.aspx?PlayerKey=55&tourns=WC&plStat=2 Snooker Database 8 August 2012 14 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160314010308/http://www.snookerdatabase.co.uk/PlayerDetails.aspx?playerKey=55&tourns=WC&plStat=2 deadDennis Taylor at the World Championship http://www.snookerdatabase.co.uk/PlayerDetails.aspx?playerKey=59&tourns=WC&plStat=2 Snooker Database 8 August 2012 3 February 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160203102011/http://www.snookerdatabase.co.uk/PlayerDetails.aspx?PlayerKey=59&tourns=WC&plStat=2 dead Taylor took a 4–2 lead, but Thorburn went ahead 8–6 and won the match 9–8. In the other matches of the first round, Perrie Mans eliminated Ron Gross 9–2, David Taylor beat John Dunning 9–4, and the 1970 runner-up Warren Simpson defeated Maurice Parkin 9–3. Jim Meadowcroft received a bye when his scheduled opponent Kingsley Kennerley withdrew due to illness.Cliffhanger Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham May 1973 5 Second round In the second round, from 17 to 18 April, matches were played as best-of-31 frames. Higgins was admonished by tournament director Bruce Donkin for arriving more than 20 minutes late for his match against Houlihan, and was later fined £100 by the WPBSA for his behaviour. Higgins took a 6–1 lead in the first session,Enter the demon king – late Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham 5 and led 14–1 after the second session.Higgins set for easy victory Coventry Evening Telegraph 18 April 1973 51 He took the second and fourth frames of the third session to complete a 16–3 victory. Fred Davis took the first ten frames against Greaves, and won 16–1.Exit John Pulman Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham May 1973 6 Miles shocks Pulman Birmingham Daily Post 18 April 1973 15 Miles led John Pulman 6–1 and 10–5, and made a break of 110 in the 20th frame of the match on the way to a 16–10 victory. Having established a 6–1 advantage against Mans in the first session, Eddie Charlton lost six of the eight frames in their second session, but then added six of seven in the third session, and two frames in the final session, to win 16–8. Gary Owen was 8–7 ahead against Simpson, and eventually won 16–14.Tough one, Gary Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham May 1973 7 Ray Reardon compiled a break of 112 in the 27th frame of his 16–10 defeat of Meadowcroft. Rex Williams and Thorburn were level at 11–11; Williams then took a 14–11 lead, but Thorburn recovered to lead 15–14. Williams took the next two frames to secure his progress to the next round.Late night extra Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham May 1973 8 Spencer made the highest break of the tournament with 139, in the sixth frame of his match against David Taylor, which he won 16–5. Quarter-finals The quarter-finals were scheduled as best-of-31 frames matches on 19 and 20 April, with the four matches played concurrently in different arenas.Reardon Ray Buxton Peter Ray Reardon 1982 David & Charles Newton Abbott 978-0-7153-8262-2 91–92 Higgins defeated Davis 16–14, after Davis had led 14–12.Everton Clive 1986 The History of Snooker and Billiards Partridge Press Haywards Heath 978-1-85225-013-3 96–99 There was a 25-minute stoppage during the second frame of their afternoon session, when rainwater leaked onto the snooker table they were using.Holder Higgins wins through Aberdeen Evening Express 21 April 1973 23 Williams compiled a break of 108 at the start of his first session against Spencer but lost 16–7.Higgins–Davis classic Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham May 1973 9 Miles recovered to 4–5 after losing the first five frames against Charlton. Although Miles lost 6–16, the reporter for Snooker Scene wrote that "rarely has anyone played so well and lost so heavily."Charlton and Reardon sweep on Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham May 1973 11 Owen lost by the same scoreline against Reardon, after winning the first two frames. According to Reardon, in his 1982 autobiography, there were only two spectators for part of the match. Semi-finals The semi-finals, held from 21 to 23 April, were best-of-45 frames matches, played concurrently. Reardon staged a recovery when, having trailed Spencer 12–19, he won their semi-final 23–22. From 12–19, Reardon won eight consecutive frames.Reardon battles to final Coventry Evening Telegraph 24 April 1973 36 The reporter for Snooker Scene described Reardon's comeback as "the greatest recovery the event has ever seen."The favourite falls! Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham 12–13 Charlton took a 6–0 lead against Higgins,36 and defeated him 23–9.Charlton is quick to finish off Higgins Birmingham Daily Post 24 April 1973 12 Higgins attributed his defeat to playing with an unfamiliar cue, that he had been using for under two months. Charlton remarked that "I think pressure had an awful lot to do with his poor performance. But I feel he has a lot to learn about the game. Whether he is capable of learning, we shall just have to wait and see."Semi-final Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham May 1973 15 After the match, Higgins challenged Charlton to play for a stake of £100 and won 7–4.Harper Ronnie 'I'll be back' – Higgins Belfast Telegraph 24 April 1973 12 Final The final was played as a best-of-75 frames contest from 24 to 28 April. Reardon lost the first session of the final against Charlton 0–7. He won the first frame of the second session with a break of 84, and also took the next three frames, to trail 4–7.Reardon's championship Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham May 1973 16–17 Having won five of the eight frames in the second session, for 5–10, Reardon added five of the seven frames in the third session, to close the gap at 10–12. The pair were level at 12–12 and 13–13, and Reardon led 17–13 after the fourth session, before going ahead 27–25 after seven sessions of play.35–36 At the start of the eighth session, Reardon was affected by the bright lighting that had been installed for the purposes of television coverage, and he lost the first three frames. He complained about the lighting, and two large lights that were focused on the audience were switched off. From 27–28 behind, Reardon won four of the next five frames in the session,35–36 and sustained the momentum for an eventual 38–32 victory.36 For the first time, some frames of the final were televised by the BBC.36 According to snooker historian Clive Everton, "Charlton's dogged consistency proved no match for Reardon's flair and wider range of shots."36 It was Reardon's second world snooker championship win, after his first in 1970. He went on to win a further four world titles, the last of them in 1978.Ray Reardon https://wst.tv/players/ray-reardon/ https://web.archive.org/web/20200220210614/https://wst.tv/players/ray-reardon/ dead February 20, 2020 World Snooker Tour 3 September 2022 Main draw Results are shown below. Winning players are denoted in bold.1973 World Championships Results http://www.snookerdatabase.co.uk/EventResults.aspx?EventKey=39 Snooker Database 6 March 2012 14 March 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120314050923/http://snookerdatabase.co.uk/EventResults.aspx?EventKey=39 deadEmbassy World Championship http://www.snookerscene.co.uk/page.php?id=36 https://web.archive.org/web/20130124071753/http://www.snookerscene.co.uk/page.php?id=36 24 January 2013 Snooker Scene 9 May 2012 There were eight seeds; their seedings are denoted in brackets. no 200 Round 1 Best of 17 frames Round 2Best of 31 frames Quarter-finalsBest of 31 frames Semi-finalsBest of 45 frames FinalBest of 75 frames Pat Houlihan ENG 9 Jackie Rea NIR 2 David Greaves ENG 9 Bernard Bennett ENG 8 Graham Miles ENG 9 Geoff Thompson ENG 5 Perrie Mans RSA 1928 9 Ron Gross ENG 2 Warren Simpson AUS 9 Maurice Parkin ENG 3 Jim Meadowcroft ENG w/o Kingsley Kennerley ENG w/d Withdrew Cliff Thorburn CAN 9 Dennis Taylor NIR 8 David Taylor ENG 9 John Dunning ENG 4 Alex Higgins NIR (1) 16 Pat Houlihan ENG 3 Fred Davis ENG (8) 16 David Greaves ENG 1 John Pulman ENG (4) 10 Graham Miles ENG 16 Eddie Charlton AUS (5) 16 Perrie Mans RSA 1928 8 Gary Owen WAL (6) 16 Warren Simpson AUS 14 Ray Reardon WAL (3) 16 Jim Meadowcroft ENG 10 Rex Williams ENG (7) 16 Cliff Thorburn CAN 15 John Spencer ENG (2) 16 David Taylor ENG 5 Alex Higgins NIR (1) 16 Fred Davis ENG (8) 14 Graham Miles ENG 6 Eddie Charlton AUS (5) 16 Gary Owen WAL (6) 6 Ray Reardon WAL (3) 16 Rex Williams ENG (7) 7 John Spencer ENG (2) 16 Alex Higgins NIR (1) 9 Eddie Charlton AUS (5) 23 Ray Reardon WAL (3) 23 John Spencer ENG (2) 22 Eddie Charlton AUS (5) 32 Ray Reardon WAL (3) 38 Century breaks There were six century breaks during the tournament:Park Drive world professional championship Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham May 1973 4–17 139, 106 John Spencer 112, 109 Ray Reardon 110 Graham Miles 108 Rex Williams Notes References 2 1973 World Snooker Championship World Snooker Championship World Snooker Championship Category:International sports competitions in Manchester