1974 World Snooker Championship

September 2022 1974 Park Drive World Snooker Championship 1974 04 16 1974 04 25 y Belle Vue Manchester England WPBSA Ranking event £10,000 £2,000 Graham Miles ENG (131) Ray Reardon WAL Graham Miles ENG 22–12 1973 1975 The 1974 World Snooker Championship (also known as 1974 Park Drive World Snooker Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 16 to 25 April 1974 at the Belle Vue in Manchester, England. It was the 1974 edition of the World Snooker Championship, established in 1927. The 1974 tournament was promoted by Snooker Promotions, and sponsored by tobacco brand Park Drive. The event attracted 31 entrants and carried a prize fund of £10,000. Seven qualifying matches were held; the seven winners of these joined the other 17 players in the main tournament. Ray Reardon won the title by defeating Graham Miles 22–12 in the final. It was Reardon's third World Championship win, after his first in 1970; he was the defending champion from 1973 World Snooker Championship. He went on to win a further three titles, the last of them in 1978. There were five century breaks during the competition, the highest of which was 131 by Miles. A plate competition was held, for losers in the first and second rounds of the main tournament. John Spencer defeated John Pulman 15–5 in the plate competition final, and recorded six century breaks during his four matches. 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, the, 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 were no world championship matches until professional Rex Williams gained agreement from the BACC that the world championship would be staged on a challenge basis, with defending champion 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" From 1972, the championship was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), which was the renamed PBPA.Everton Clive 2012 Black Farce and Cue Ball Wizards Mainstream Edinburgh 978-1-78057-568-1 45Kobylecky John 2019 The Complete International Directory of Snooker Players – 1927 to 2018 Kobyhadrian Books 978-0-9931433-1-1 226 The defending champion was Ray Reardon, who defeated Eddie Charlton 38–32 in the 1973 final.Everton Clive 1986 The History of Snooker and Billiards Partridge Press Haywards Heath 978-1-85225-013-3 96–102 Format The 1974 competition was promoted by Snooker Promotions, a company established by Peter West and Patrick Nally. The tournament was sponsored by tobacco brand Park Drive, with £10,000 prize money.Park Drive world professional snooker championship Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham April 1974 9 This was the last time that Park Drive sponsored the event and there was no sponsor the following year.Turner 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 11 May 2012 The venue was Belle Vue, Manchester. There were 31 entrants. A qualifying round was held on 11 April, and the main tournament was held from 16 to 25 April 1974, initially with concurrent play across eight different snooker tables, and two session sessions per day. The seven qualifiers and nine other players contested the first round matches, with winners from those matches each then meeting one of the eight players who had been exempted to the second round. Prize fund The winner of the event received £2,000 from a total prize fund of £10,000. The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below.Park drive up prize money Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham February 1974 15 Winner: £2,000 Runner-up: £1,200 Third: £800No record of a third-place playoff match was found in sources consulted. Fourth: £750 Quarter-finalists: unknown Second round losers: unknown First round losers: £150 Tournament summary Qualifying A qualifying round was held on 11 April, with seven matches played as the best-of-15 frames; a seven-frame session followed by an eight-frame session. Former champion John Pulman whitewashed Jack Karnehm 8–0.Everton Clive Pulman far too good for Lee The Guardian 17 April 1974 23 Dennis Taylor won the first frame against Marcus Owen on a respotted black, but this was the only frame he won in the first session of seven frames. David Taylor, recovering from tonsilitis, won in the deciding frame against Ron Gross. Warren Simpson, feeling ill from the effects of his diabetes, won seven consecutive frames from 1–3 against Jack Rea to progress. A report in Snooker Scene magazine described the general standard of play in the qualifying round as "disappointing".Qualifying round Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham May 1974 3–7 First round The first round matches were played as the best-of-15 frames on 16 April across two sessions - seven frames in the afternoon session and eight frames in the evening. Simpson discharged himself from hospital, where he had spent several days due to influenza, one hour before his match against Bernard Bennett, and lost 2–8.Valiant try The Age 18 April 1974 33 AAP-ReutersFirst round Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham June 1974 4–7 Cliff Thorburn led 3–1 against Paddy Morgan, but lost 4–8. Tournament debutant Bill Werbeniuk took five successive frames from 2–2 against Geoff Thompson, and won 8–3.Bill Werbeniuk at the World Championship http://www.snookerdatabase.co.uk/PlayerDetails.aspx?playerKey=84 Snooker Database 10 June 2012 4 September 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220904173502/https://www.snookerdatabase.co.uk/PlayerDetails.aspx?playerKey=84 live Pulman followed his whitewash of Karnehm in qualifying with another win without losing a frame, against Sidney Lee. In the round's other matches, Marcus Owen eliminated Maurice Parkin 8–5; Ian Anderson won only the second frame against Perrie Mans; Kingsley Kennerley lost 5–8 to Jim Meadowcroft; and John Dunning defeated David Taylor 8–6. Second round On 17 and 18 April the best-of-29 frames second round matches were held. The matches were scheduled across three seven-frame sessions and a concluding eight-frame session. Reardon constructed a 6–1 lead against Meadowcroft, and took six of the following seven frames too.Everton Clive No slips by top player The Guardian 18 April 1974 27 After completing a 15–3 victory, Reardon questioned – in a tone that the ‘’Daily Telegraph’’ reported as "asking blandly" – "Who can beat me?"Marcus Owen beats brother The Daily Telegraph 18 April 1974 30 Marcus Owen led his older brother Gary Owen 9–5, after finishing the first session 4–3 ahead, and won 15–8. Alex Higgins made breaks of 69, 67, 64 and 63 while taking a 6–0 lead against Bennett, eventually eliminating him 15–4. Werbeniuk lost the first seven frames against Fred Davis, and was 4–10 behind after two sessions.Bill behind eight-ball The Vancouver Sun 18 April 1974 30 Davis won the match 15–5.Davis eliminates Werbeniuk The Vancouver Sun 19 April 1974 24 Charlton established a 5–2 lead against Dunning, but during the second session Dunning won six consecutive frames and was 8–6 up at the end of the session,Australians trailing in snooker The Sydney Morning Herald 19 April 1974 16 despite Charlton making the tournament's first century break, 100. Dunning increased his lead to four frames at 13–9. Charlton took the next four frames to draw level, but Dunning won the next two and progressed to the quarter-finals.Australians eliminated The Sydney Morning Herald 20 April 1974 72 Spencer, affected by influenza, was two frames behind Mans, 6–8, after two sessions.John Spencer trails Mans The Daily Telegraph 18 April 1974 30 The quality of Mans's potting compensated for his inaccurate positional play as he ran out a 15–13 winner.Second round Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham June 1974 9–11 Miles defeated Morgan 15–7, and Williams defeated Pulman 15–12. Quarter-finals The quarter-finals were staged on 19 and 20 April, as the best-of-29 frames: three seven-frame sessions followed by one of eight frames. Owen made a 102 break to equalise at 3–3 with Reardon, and won the following frame when Reardon went in-off the final black ball.Everton Clive Reardon in fine tussle with Owen The Guardian 20 April 1974 19 Owen took the first two frames of the third session to draw level at 8–8, but toward the end of the match Reardon took four of the last five frames to win 15–11.Quarter-finals Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham June 1974 12–14 Miles constructed a 4–0 lead against Dunning, and made a 110 break in the third frame of the third session, to put him 11–6 up. Dunning then won five frames in succession to equalise, and, with both players making a number of errors, Miles went on to take the match 15–13. According to Snooker Scene, Higgins and Davis both looked "ill at ease" during their match.12 Higgins led 9–5 after the first day, and had an increased advantage at 11–6. Davis narrowed his deficit to a single frame at 12–13. Higgins won the 26th frame with a break of 54, leaving him two ahead with three to play. With a break of 91 in the next frame, and a 45 in the following one, Davis forced a deciding frame, which he won. In this match against Williams, Mans won only three frames from the first 14, and lost 4–15. Williams made breaks of 30 or more in 15 of the 19 frames played. Semi-finals The semi-finals, as the best-of-29 frames, were played on 21 and 22 April. The matches were scheduled over four sessions; the first three sessions had seven frames, and the fourth session was eight frames. Reardon took an 11–3 lead against Davis, which included winning the last six frames of the first day.Everton Clive No stopping Reardon The Guardian 22 April 1974 19 Reardon won the first four frames of the third session to secure a place in the final.Reardon & Miles in final The Daily Telegraph 23 April 1974 31 Miles compiled a break of 131 to draw level at 3–3 with Williams, but was 3–4 behind at the conclusion of the first session.Miles has break of 131 The Daily Telegraph 22 April 1974 31 Williams, despite avoiding attacking play, made a series of errors, and Miles won 15–7.Semi-finals Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham June 1974 16 Final Reardon and Miles faced each other in the final, which took place from 23 to 25 April, as a best-of-43 frames contest across six sessions. The first two days both featured two seven-frame sessions. The sixth session was not required as the match was completed during the fifth session. Miles made his third century break of the championship, 101, in the fifth frame.Reardon leads Miles 9–5 The Daily Telegraph 24 April 1974 30 Reardon led 4–3 after the first session and 9–5 after the second. During the third session, Reardon compiled his best break of tournament so far, 97, having made a 76 in the preceding frame. Former champion Joe Davis commented that Reardon was "a credit to the game. I’ve yet to see him become ruffled."Reardon still ahead in final The Daily Telegraph 25 April 1974 30 Reardon lost three of four frames in the fourth session, leaving him 17–11 ahead.Reardon leads The Vancouver Sun 25 April 1974 31Final Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham June 1974 17 Reardon secured victory at 22–12. Reardon said "I don't feel that I played any better than mediocre in the final, but this is because Graham never put me under pressure. I don't feel the elation that I felt at winning last year."Reardon's third world title The Times 26 April 1974 9 It was Reardon's third world snooker championship win, after his first in 1970. He went on to win a further three titles, the last of them in 1978.Ray Reardon https://wst.tv/players/ray-reardon/ World Snooker Tour 3 September 2022 14 January 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210114232239/https://wst.tv/players/ray-reardon/ dead Main draw Results for the tournament are shown below. Winning players are denoted in bold.1974 World Championships Results http://www.snookerdatabase.co.uk/EventResults.aspx?EventKey=38 Snooker Database 6 March 2012 5 May 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140505231832/http://www.snookerdatabase.co.uk/EventResults.aspx?EventKey=38 liveEmbassy 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 6 March 2012 no 180 Round 1 Best of 15 frames16 April Round 2Best of 29 frames17 & 18 April Quarter-finalsBest of 29 frames19 & 20 April Semi-finalsBest of 29 frames21 & 22 April FinalBest of 43 frames23, 24 & 25 April Kingsley Kennerley ENG 5 Jim Meadowcroft ENG 8 Maurice Parkin ENG 5 Marcus Owen WAL 8 Bernard Bennett ENG 8 Warren Simpson AUS 2 Bill Werbeniuk CAN 8 Geoff Thompson ENG 3 Perrie Mans SAF 1928 8 Ian Anderson AUS 1 John Pulman ENG 8 Sydney Lee ENG 0 Paddy Morgan AUS 8 Cliff Thorburn CAN 4 John Dunning ENG 8 David Taylor ENG 6 Ray Reardon WAL 15 Jim Meadowcroft ENG 3 Gary Owen WAL 8 Marcus Owen WAL 15 Alex Higgins NIR 15 Bernard Bennett ENG 4 Fred Davis ENG 15 Bill Werbeniuk CAN 5 John Spencer ENG 13 Perrie Mans RSA 1928 15 Rex Williams ENG 15 John Pulman ENG 12 Graham Miles ENG 15 Paddy Morgan AUS 7 Eddie Charlton AUS 13 John Dunning ENG 15 Ray Reardon WAL 15 Marcus Owen WAL 11 Alex Higgins NIR 14 Fred Davis ENG 15 Perrie Mans RSA 1928 4 Rex Williams ENG 15 Graham Miles ENG 15 John Dunning ENG 13 Ray Reardon WAL 15 Fred Davis ENG 3 Rex Williams ENG 7 Graham Miles ENG 15 Ray Reardon WAL 22 Graham Miles ENG 12 Qualifying The results from the qualifying competition were as follows. Winning players are denoted in bold. Best of 15 frames John Dunning ENG 8–2 David Greaves ENG Warren Simpson AUS 8–3 Jackie Rea NIR Jim Meadowcroft ENG 8–5 Pat Houlihan ENG Cliff Thorburn CAN 8–3 Alan McDonald AUS John Pulman ENG 8–0 Jack Karnehm ENG David Taylor ENG 8–7 Ron Gross ENG Marcus Owen WAL 8–1 Dennis Taylor NIR Century breaks There were five century breaks during the tournament:Park Drive world professional championship Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham June 1974 4–17 131, 110, 101 Graham Miles 102 Marcus Owen 102 John Dunning Plate competition A plate competition was held, for losers in the first and second rounds of the main tournament. Spencer won the plate by defeating Pulman 15–5 in the final, and recorded six century breaks during his four matches.Plate Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham June 1974 18 He received £300 prize money for winning the plate. Notes References 1974 World Championship World Snooker Championship Category:International sports competitions in Manchester Category:April 1974 sports events in the United Kingdom