1953 World Professional Match-play Championship

Snooker tournament 1953 World Professional Match-play Championship 1952 11 10 1953 03 28 y yes Leicester Square Hall London England ENG John Pulman (133) ENG Fred Davis SCO Walter Donaldson 37–34 1952 1954 United Kingdom 200 Venues Slough left 5 51.510 -0.590 Derby right 5 52.922 -1.476 Belfast right 5 54.597 -5.93 Bolton right 5 53.578 -2.429 Wellington left 5 52.700 -2.516 Liverpool left 5 53.409 -2.980 London bottom 8 51.510 -0.130 The 1953 World Professional Match-play Championship was a professional snooker tournament, the second edition of the World Professional Match-play Championship, held from 10 November 1952 to 28 March 1953. The event was held across several venues in the United Kingdom, with the final held at the Leicester Square Hall in London, England. Fred Davis was the defending champion, after winning the 1952 event, with a 38–35 win over Walter Donaldson. The same players contested the 1953 final, with Davis defeating Donaldson 37–34 in the 71-frame final. The highest break of 133 was made by John Pulman in his semi-final loss to Davis. Overview The World Professional Match-play Championship was created in 1952 as an alternative to the Billiards Association and Control Council (BA&CC) professional World Snooker Championship, which was retrospectively recognised as a world championship.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 9 February 2011 However, founder and 15-time champion Joe Davis of the BA&CC's events did not participate in the Match-play Championships.https://www.wpbsa.com/about/history/full-history-of-snooker/ Full History of Snooker Nunns Hector Hendon David 2020 wpbsa.com WPBSA 11 May 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20190810132854/http://www.wpbsa.com/about/history/full-history-of-snooker/ 10 August 2019 live The defending champion of the event was Davis' brother Fred Davis, who had won the World Snooker Championship as the BA&CC authorised event, and the match-play championship in 1952.History of the World Snooker Championship http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/BetfredcomWorldChampionshipTournamentsArticle/0,,13165~2306123,00.html worldsnooker.com World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association 30 April 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110315202302/http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/BetfredcomWorldChampionshipTournamentsArticle/0%2C%2C13165~2306123%2C00.html 15 March 2011 live Davis won his second World title by defeating Walter Donaldson 38–35 in the final. Format The 1953 World Professional Match-play Championship was held over several months between 10 November 1952 to 28 March 1953. The final was held at Leicester Square Hall in London, England from 23 to 28 March 1953.Donaldson and Davis level Dundee Courier 24 March 1953 23 March 2016 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19530324/094/0006 6 British Newspaper Archive subscription The event featured eight participants. The rounds were played at different locations in the United Kingdom over different match lengths. Matches were played as the best-of-61 frames in the quarter and semi-finals, and a best-of-73 frames final. Schedule Below is the list of venues and dates for the matches during the championships.The Times 12 September 1952 9 Snooker Match Dates Venue, City Albert Brown v Alec Brown 10–15 November 1952 Central Billiards Hall, Slough Fred Davis v John Barrie 8–12 December 1952 Mechanics Institute, Derby John Pulman v Jackie Rea 8–12 December 1952 RAOB Hall, Belfast Walter Donaldson v Kingsley Kennerley 15–20 December 1952 Bolton Fred Davis v John Pulman 16–20 February 1953 Wrekin Hall, Wellington, Shropshire Walter Donaldson v Albert Brown 9–14 March 1953 St George's Hall, Liverpool Fred Davis v Walter Donaldson 23–28 March 1953 Leicester Square Hall, London Summary The qualifying section was held at Leicester Square Hall from 25 August to 6 September 1952. 66-year-old Willie Smith met Jim Lees from 25 to 27 August. Smith led 16–8 after two days and won 21–14.The Glasgow Herald https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7ltAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xJMMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3471%2C4996277 28 August 1952 2 Snooker 9 March 2016 12 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160312115753/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7ltAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xJMMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3471%2C4996277 live The match between Kingsley Kennerley and Rex Williams was played from 28 to 30 August. Kennerley led 16–8 after two days and won 25–12.The Glasgow Herald https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w9Y-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=20wMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6783%2C101638 1 September 1952 9 Snooker 11 January 2016 10 February 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160210001716/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w9Y-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=20wMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6783%2C101638 live Smith and Kennerley met from 1 to 6 September in the six-day final. Kennerley led 27–21 after four days and took a winning 36–24 lead after the fifth day, winning all six of the evening session frames. The final score was 42–29.The Glasgow Herald https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=emdAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jZQMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1440%2C766195 8 September 1952 9 Snooker 11 January 2016 12 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160312115757/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=emdAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jZQMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1440%2C766195 live Albert Brown and Alec Brown met in the first quarter-final, played in Slough, played over 6 days. Albert Brown took a 7–3 lead on the first day but Alec Brown had levelled the match at 15–15 after day 3. Albert Brown won all 5 frames on the fourth afternoon session and led 23–17 after four days. Alec Brown reduced Albert Brown's lead to 26–24 after day 5 but won only 2 frames on the last day as Albert secured a 35–26 win.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=g0FAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hlkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4315%2C1577866 Snooker The Glasgow Herald 9 17 November 1952 23 March 2016 26 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160426052216/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=g0FAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hlkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4315%2C1577866 live Defending champion Fred Davis played John Barrie at the Mechanics Institute in Derby. Davis led 20–16 after three days, making a break of 121 on day 3,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mEFAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hlkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2168%2C3857215 Snooker win for Joe Davis The Glasgow Herald 2 11 December 1952 23 March 2016 26 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160426044347/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mEFAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hlkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2168%2C3857215 live but Barrie levelled the match at 24–24 on the fourth day, where he made a century break.Barrie now level Dundee Courier 12 December 1952 23 March 2016 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19521212/109/0006 6 British Newspaper Archive subscriptionhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mUFAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hlkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2963%2C4020052 Snooker The Glasgow Herald 7 12 December 1952 23 March 2016 26 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160426105631/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mUFAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hlkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2963%2C4020052 live On the final day, Davis led 28–26 after the afternoon session, despite a break of 125 by Barrie, and Davis eventually won 32–29.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mkFAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hlkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2853%2C4072409 World snooker semi-finalists – Holder qualifies The Glasgow Herald 2 13 December 1952 23 March 2016 26 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160426082837/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mkFAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hlkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2853%2C4072409 liveThe Times 13 December 1952 4 World championship John Pulman met Jackie Rea in the five-day match played at the RAOB Hall, Belfast. This was the first World Championship match to be played in Ireland. Pulman had the best of the first four days and led 29–19, needing just two frames on the final day for victory. Pulman won the match by taking a 31–21 after winning the fourth afternoon frame on the final day. The match ended with Pulman completing a 36–25 victory.Pulman celebrates his birthday with great win Northern Whig 13 December 1952 23 March 2016 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001542/19521213/115/0006 6 British Newspaper Archive subscription Walter Donaldson met Kingsley Kennerley, the winner of the qualifying competition, in the final quarter-final played in Bolton. Donaldson dominated the match, leading 27–8 after the fourth afternoon session. Kennerley won all five frames in the evening session,The Times 19 December 1952 4 World championship but Donaldson took a winning lead of 31–14 after the fifth afternoon.The Times 20 December 1952 4 World championship The match ended with Donaldson 42–19 ahead.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oUFAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hlkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3688%2C4842696 Snooker The Glasgow Herald 2 22 December 1952 23 March 2016 26 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160426085822/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oUFAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hlkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3688%2C4842696 live Fred Davis met John Pulman in the first semi-final played at the Wrekin Hall in Wellington, Shropshire. Davis took a winning 31–17 lead after the fourth day.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fkJAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=i1kMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4981%2C4755025 Snooker The Glasgow Herald 9 20 February 1953 23 March 2016 26 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160426050032/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fkJAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=i1kMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4981%2C4755025 live The final score was 36–25.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=f0JAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=i1kMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6564%2C4883127 Snooker The Glasgow Herald 9 21 February 1953 23 March 2016 26 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160426075352/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=f0JAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=i1kMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6564%2C4883127 live In the final afternoon session Davis made a break of 101 while Pulman made a 105 break and the highest break of the championship - a 133 - in the evening, and finished 36–25.2004 Embassy World Championship Information http://www.globalsnookercentre.co.uk/files/Results/res_03_4/03_4worldinfo.htm Global Snooker Centre 9 May 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20041208092511/http://www.globalsnookercentre.co.uk/files/Results/res_03_4/03_4worldinfo.htm 8 December 2004The Times 21 February 1953 4 SnookerFred Davis Dundee Courier 21 February 1953 23 March 2016 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19530221/027/0002 2 British Newspaper Archive subscription Albert Brown withdrew from his semi-final match against Walter Donaldson in Liverpool before the second day's play, on medical advice, but was trailing 1–9 after the first day.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VktAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jVkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3564%2C1094306 Snooker The Glasgow Herald 11 11 March 1953 13 January 2016 25 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160425204005/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VktAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jVkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3564,1094306 live The final was held at Leicester Square Hall for the first time since 1949, the last time the final was held there and was held over 71 frames. The match was level at 6–6 after the first day but Donaldson took a 13–11 lead after day 2, despite a break of 107 by Davis.Fred Davis Dundee Courier 25 March 1953 23 March 2016 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19530325/027/0002 2 British Newspaper Archive subscription Donaldson led 20–16 after day 3 but Davis tied the match at 24–24 after the fourth day which included another Davis century, this time of 102.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Y0tAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jVkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5127%2C2912490 Snooker The Glasgow Herald 9 27 March 1953 23 March 2016 26 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160426064037/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Y0tAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jVkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5127%2C2912490 live David led 28–26 after the fifth afternoon session but Donaldson took a 31–29 lead at the end of the fifth day.The Times 28 March 1953 4 Professional snooker The match was again level at 33–33 after the final afternoon session but Davis crept ahead in the evening session to win 37–34.The Times 30 March 1953 2 Professional snooker Main draw The draw for the competition is below. Players in bold denote match winners.Embassy 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 2012World Championship 1953 http://www.global-snooker.com/professional-snooker-tournaments-archive-world-championship-1953.asp Global Snooker 14 March 2011 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20120222034524/http://www.global-snooker.com/professional-snooker-tournaments-archive-world-championship-1953.asp 22 February 2012Hayton Eric The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker 2004 Rose Villa Publications Lowestoft 0-9548549-0-X 144 Quarter-finals61 frames Semi-finals61 frames Final71 frames ENG Fred Davis 32 ENG John Barrie 29 ENG John Pulman 36 NIR Jackie Rea 25 SCO Walter Donaldson 42 ENG Kingsley Kennerley 19 ENG Albert Brown 35 ENG Alec Brown 26 ENG Fred Davis 36 ENG John Pulman 25 SCO Walter Donaldson w/o ENG Albert Brown w/d withdrew ENG Fred Davis 37 SCO Walter Donaldson 34 Qualifying Tournament The draw for the qualifying competition is below. Players in bold denote match winners. Round 137 frames Final71 frames ENG Willie Smith 21 ENG Jim Lees 14 ENG Kingsley Kennerley 25 ENG Rex Williams 12 ENG Willie Smith 29 ENG Kingsley Kennerley 42 References 1953 1953 World Professional Match-play Championship World Professional Match-play Championship World Professional Match-play Championship World Professional Match-play Championship Category:International sports competitions in London World Snooker Championship, 1953