1979 World Snooker Championship

Professional snooker tournament April 2023 1979 Embassy World Snooker Championship 1979 04 16 1979 04 28 y Crucible Theatre Sheffield England WPBSA Ranking event £35,000 £10,000 Bill Werbeniuk CAN (142) Terry Griffiths WAL Dennis Taylor NIR 24–16 1978 1980 The 1979 World Snooker Championship (officially known as the 1979 Embassy World Snooker Championship) was a ranking professional snooker tournament that took place from 16 to 28 April 1979 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Promoted by Mike Watterson for the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, it was the third consecutive World Snooker Championship to be held at the Crucible, the first tournament having taken place in 1977. A qualifying event for the championship was held from 25 March to 7 April, producing eight qualifiers who joined the eight invited seeded players in the main event staged from 16 to 28 April. The main tournament was broadcast in the United Kingdom by the BBC, and was sponsored by the Embassy cigarette company. The winner received £10,000 from the total prize fund of £35,000. Steve Davis, Terry Griffiths and Kirk Stevens all qualified for the Crucible stage for the first time. The defending champion was Ray Reardon, who had won the title for a sixth time by defeating Perrie Mans by 25 frames to 18 in the 1978 final. Reardon was eliminated in the quarter-finals after losing 8–13 to Dennis Taylor. Griffiths met Taylor in the final, which was a best-of-47-frame match. Griffiths won 24–16, to become the first player to proceed from the qualifying competition and win the title at the Crucible. There were 13 century breaks compiled during the championship, the highest of which was a championship record-equalling 142 by Bill Werbeniuk. Background thumb|alt=an exterior shot of a theatre with a red roof|The tournament was held at the Crucible Theatre (pictured in 2005) The World Snooker Championship is the preeminent tournament in professional snooker.Nunns Hetor Qatar want to take World Snooker Championship away from Crucible https://www.telegraph.co.uk/snooker/2023/04/27/qatar-snooker-world-championship-crucible-sheffield/ The Daily Telegraph 27 April 2023 20 May 2023 9 May 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230509135144/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/snooker/2023/04/27/qatar-snooker-world-championship-crucible-sheffield/ live Joe Davis won the first edition, in 1927 at Camkin's Hall in Birmingham, England.Suart Paul Why Birmingham is the real home of World Snooker Championship https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/nostalgia/birmingham-real-home-world-championship-14556412 Birmingham Mail 6 May 2018 4 May 2023 24 April 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210424203134/https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/nostalgia/birmingham-real-home-world-championship-14556412 live Since 1977, the venue for the tournament, held annually, has been the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield.Metcalfe Nick Crucible champions: Every World Snooker Championship winner profiled including Alex Higgins, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Hendry https://www.sportinglife.com/snooker/news/crucible-champions-every-world-snooker-championship-winner-profiled-including-alex-higgins-ronnie-osullivan-and-stephen-hendry/179242 Sporting Life 28 April 2022 4 May 2023 13 February 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230213112104/https://www.sportinglife.com/snooker/news/crucible-champions-every-world-snooker-championship-winner-profiled-including-alex-higgins-ronnie-osullivan-and-stephen-hendry/179242 live Livie Alex World Snooker Championship 2023 – Crucible info: capacity, history, tickets, quotes on 'home of snooker' https://www.eurosport.co.uk/snooker/world-championship/2022-2023/crucible-info-capacity-history-tickets-quotes-on-home-of-snooker-hed-needs-confirming_sto9561795/story.shtml 15 April 2023 4 May 2023 The 1979 tournament was promoted for the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association by Mike WattersonEverton Clive All but two must qualify https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian-all-but-two-must-qualify/124052937/ The Guardian 1 May 1979 26 and featured professional players competing in one-on-one snooker matches in a single-elimination format, each match played over a defined number of frames. The eight highest-ranked players from the Snooker world rankings 1978/1979 were placed directly into the last-16 round of the main tournament in 1979, whilst all other entrants were required to participate in a qualifying competition to produce the eight players to play the exempted seeds.Official world rankings Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham June 1978 28 World championship prospects... Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham April 1979 3 The defending champion was Ray Reardon, who had won his sixth world title by defeating Perrie Mans 25–18 in the 1978 final.1978: Reardon makes it six http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/3557583.stm BBC Sport 7 April 2004 4 May 2023 2 May 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20040502045107/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/3557583.stm live The 1979 tournament was a ranking event.New qualifying system Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham June 1979 7 It received daily BBC television coverage,Everton Clive Old order changes Snooker Scene June 1979 Everton's News Agency Birmingham 3 and was sponsored by cigarette brand Embassy. Following the qualifying competition that was held from 25 March to 7 April, the main tournament took place from 16 to 28 April. Prize fund The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:Downer Chris Crucible Almanac Prize money 2019 146 Winner: £10,000 Runner-up: £5,000 Third place: £3,000 Fourth place: £2,000 Quarter-final: £1,250 Last 16: £1,000 Highest break: £500 Maximum break: £10,000 (not awarded) Total: £35,500 Tournament summary Qualifying The qualifying competition took place from 25 March to 7 April at Romiley Forum, Stockport, and the Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds. Played over two rounds, with each match a best-of-17 frame contest, it produced eight qualifying players who joined the top eight seeded players in the main competition. There were 11 matches in the preliminary round. Bernard Bennett took a 2–0 lead against Terry Griffiths, but lost 2–9. Pat Houlihan won five consecutive frames from 4–5 behind against John Barrie to progress to the next round. Willie Thorne compiled a 131 break in the second frame of his 9–3 victory against Jim Charlton. John Virgo recorded a break of 137 in the seventh frame of his whitewash of Maurice Parkin. Veteran Jackie Rea took the first two frames against John Dunning, but then lost the tip from his cue during the third frame, and, using a borrowed cue, saw Dunning level the match at 2–2. He reverted to using his own cue, now retipped, but the tip came off again and he eventually lost 5–9. Roy Andrewartha won the deciding frame against Ray Edmonds. Tournament debutants Steve Davis and Kirk Stevens both achieved 9–1 wins, against Ian Anderson and Roy Amdor respectively. In the qualifying round, Virgo won the last four frames, which included a break of 120 in frame 15, to eliminate Thorne 9–8.Everton Clive White tipped to be youngest champion https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123942202/white-tipped-to-be-youngest-champion/ The Guardian 6 April 1979 26 In a match that lasted over nine hours, David Taylor won the deciding frame against Dunning. Stevens whitewashed former champion John Pulman. In the other matches, Bill Werbeniuk defeated Andrewartha 9–2, Doug Mountjoy won 9–6 against Houlihan, Davis eliminated Patsy Fagan 9–2, Jim Meadowcroft lost 6–9 to Griffiths, and Rex Williams lost 5–9 to Graham Miles. Davis, Griffiths, and Stevens all qualified for the Crucible stage for the first time.Downer Chris Crucible Almanac Index to players 2019 240–268 First round thumb|alt=Dennis Taylor wearing a dark suit|Dennis Taylor (pictured in 2004) eliminated defending champion Reardon in the quarter-finals, and finished as runner-up. Before the main competition started, Coral made Reardon their bookmaker's favourite, at odds of 2–1, followed by Eddie Charlton at 5–1, and John Spencer and Alex Higgins who were each priced at 6–1.Everton Clive Reardon's followers unshaken by defeats https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian-reardons-followers-unshake/123946141/ The Guardian 10 April 1979 28 The first round took place between 16 and 20 April, with matches scheduled three over sessions as the best of 25 frames. Fred Davis made a break of 109, the first century break in that year's main competition, to level at 3–3 with Stevens, but finished their first session 3–5 behind.Everton Clive Stevens on happy note https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian-stevens-on-happy-note/123947127/ The Guardian 17 April 1979 27 Aged 65 years and 247 days, he became the oldest ever player to win a match at the Crucible when he defeated Stevens 13–8.Kane Desmond Crucible gold: Centurion Fred Davis becomes oldest man to win match at world championship https://www.eurosport.co.uk/snooker/crucible-gold-centurion-fred-davis-becomes-oldest-man-to-win-match-at-world-championship_sto7727755/story.shtml Eurosport 21 April 2021 30 April 2023Kirk Stevens at the World Championship http://www.snookerdatabase.co.uk/PlayerDetails.aspx?PlayerKey=95&tourns=WC&plStat=2 Snooker Database 10 June 2012 6 May 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160506220120/http://www.snookerdatabase.co.uk/PlayerDetails.aspx?PlayerKey=95&tourns=WC&plStat=2 live Werbeniuk defeated Spencer 13–11, and said that he was treating a nerve-related trembling in his cue arm by drinking lager.Spencer pipped by Werbeniuk https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-spencer-pipped-by-we/123974340/ The Daily Telegraph 9 April 1979 34 Cliff Thorburn, runner-up in 1977, compiled a break of 125 in the second session against Virgo, but lost the match 10–13. David Taylor, who had defeated Higgins earlier in the season at the 1978 UK Championship, lost 5–13 to him. Charlton made a 95 break to complete a 13–6 win against Mountjoy.Charlton first to advance https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-charlton-first-to-ad/123948141/ The Daily Telegraph 18 April 1979 33 Defending champion Reardon trailed Miles 3–5 after their first session, but then won eight of the nine frames in the second session.Everton Clive Champions rebound https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian-champions-rebound/123948439/ The Guardian 19 April 1979 24 Griffiths defeated Mans 13–8, and Steve Davis lost 11–13 to Dennis Taylor. Quarter-finals The quarter-finals were played as best-of-25-frames matches over three sessions between 19 and 21 April. Higgins made breaks of 105 and 112 in the second and third frames respectively of his match against Griffiths, and finished the first session leading 6–2.Griffiths fights back to jolt Higgins https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-griffiths-fights-bac/123973883/ The Daily Telegraph 20 April 1979 33 Griffiths drew level at 8–8 in the second session, aided by a 121 break. Griffiths took the final frame with a 107 break to win won 13–12; it was the third world championship in a row where Higgins was defeated in a deciding frame. Charlton defeated Fred Davis 13–4, after taking a 5–0 lead. Davis compiled a 110 break in the eighth frame. Reardon took an early lead of 5–2 against Dennis Taylor; the players were later level at 7–7 when Reardon was distracted by applause from spectators at the other table at the venue, and missed an attempt to pot a brown. Taylor won that frame, and the next, to lead 9–7 after two sessions. He won only one further frame, as Taylor achieved victory at 13–8. Virgo built an 8–1 lead against Webeniuk in their first session, and was six frames clear after the second session, at 11–5. Werbeniuk won the initial frame of the third session, and in the next frame equalled the record championship break of 142 that had been set by Williams in 1965. The prize money for the tournament's highest break was £500, whilst beating the record would have earnt an additional £5,000. Werbeniuk received a further £500 donated jointly from tournament promoter Watterson, Harmsworth, manufacturers of the cloth used on the snooker tables at the event, and tournament table makers Karnehm and Hillman. Virgo won 13–9. Semi-finals and third place playoff The semi-finals took place between 22 and 25 April as best-of-37-frames matches played over four sessions. Griffiths recorded a 101 break in the second frame against Charlton, and after leading 4–3 after one session, increased his advantage during the second session to 10–4. Despite a highest break of just 46, Charlton won the next six frames to draw level.Griffiths has long lead https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-griffiths-has-long-l/123980780/ The Daily Telegraph 24 April 1979 34 Griffiths won the last frame of the second day to take an 11–10 lead into the concluding day; at the close of the fifth session he was two frames up, at 15–13. The last session ended at 1:40a.m., having taken five hours and 25 minutes to play, and set a record for the latest finish of any match.Then and Now: Terry Griffiths http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/04022010/58/terry-griffiths.html Eurosport UK 10 June 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20121007052303/http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/04022010/58/terry-griffiths.html 7 October 2012 dead dmy This duration was just eight minutes less than the longest world championship session on record, which occurred during Reardon and Fred Davis's match in 1969. Charlton led for the first time in the match at 16–15, and was again a frame ahead at 17–16. Griffiths took the next two frames, and completed his passage into the final at 19–17 after Charlton, who was leading by 48 points, missed an attempt to pot a red while using the half-butt. Griffiths compiled a 97 break to secure victory.Embassy world professional snooker championship Snooker Scene June 1979 Everton's News Agency Birmingham 9–16 In a post-match interview with David Vine, Griffiths said "I'm in the final now, you know", with what snooker historian Clive Everton described as "an engaging mixture of pride and disbelief".125 Taylor led after each session against Virgo, with his three frame advantage after the initial session increasing by an additional frame after each of the following three sessions, from 5–2 to 9–5, 13–8, and 17–11.Griffiths in early lead https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-griffiths-in-early-l/123974903/ The Daily Telegraph 23 April 1979 32Everton Clive Youngsters' cue https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian-youngsters-cue/123974219/ The Guardian 24 April 1979 24 According to Snooker Scene, Taylor displayed the "more mature match temperament" throughout, while Virgo "fumed visibly" after he made errors or was unlucky.16 Taylor won 19–12. Charlton defeated Virgo 7–3 in the third-place playoff match. Final The final, between Dennis Taylor and Terry Griffiths, took place from 26 to 28 April, as a best-of-47 frames match scheduled over six sessions,Downer Chris Crucible Almanac 1979 2019 8–9 Bournemouth and was refereed by John Williams.Downer Chris Crucible Almanac Crucible final referees 2019 159 Griffiths miscue miscued three times in four shots during the first frame, but won it on the final pink ball.The Crucible climax: how Griffiths seized his chance Snooker Scene June 1979 Everton's News Agency Birmingham 16–17 Griffiths led 3–1 when in the fifth frame he recorded a break of 120 which broke down on the final brown ball; had he potted the four remaining colours he would have equalled the championship record break of 142. Having increased his lead to 5–1 before the last frame of the first session, he made a break of 65 in the seventh frame, but Taylor countered with a 71 break win the frame on the final black ball and make it 5–2. In the second session, Griffiths took the 15th frame after the pair had been tied at 7–7.Taylor comes back with break of 92 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123826579/taylor-comes-back-with-break-of-92/ The Daily Telegraph 28 April 1979 30 30 April 2023 3 May 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230503032402/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123826579/taylor-comes-back-with-break-of-92/ live The next day, Taylor took an 11–9 lead,Everton Clive 1993 The Embassy Book of World Snooker Bloomsbury London 978-0-7475-1610-1 125 and later led 14–12, before Griffiths won twelve of the following 14 frames. With the pair level at 15–15 at the start of the final day of play,Final flourish by Griffiths https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123826379/final-flourish-by-griffiths/ The Daily Telegraph 30 April 1979 28 30 April 2023 3 May 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230503224500/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123826379/final-flourish-by-griffiths/ live Griffiths added two of the next three frames for a 17–16 lead, then won seven consecutive frames,Clive Everton Black Farce and Cue Ball Wizards: The Inside Story of the Snooker World 2012 Mainstream Publishing Edinburgh 978-1-78057-568-174Terry's pot of gold https://www.newspapers.com/article/sunday-telegraph-terrys-pot-of-gold/123974582/ The Daily Telegraph 29 April 1979 37 to secure victory at 24–16.1251979: Griffiths ushers new dawn http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/4425597.stm BBC Sport 12 April 2005 30 April 2023 30 April 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230430225747/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/4425597.stm live Griffiths became the first qualifier to win the title at the Crucible.Downer Chris Crucible Almanac 2012 119 After the match, he commented that he "didn't really feel I was playing for the championship until the last day...Once I saw the winning post, Dennis did seem to fade a bit."63 Fred Davis hailed Griffith's victory as "the greatest achievement the game's ever known", adding that for a player without experience of long matches to win the title was "just remarkable".74 Everton wrote that Griffiths was "the first authentic television age champion, a working class hero".Everton Clive 1986 The History of Snooker and Billiards Partridge Press Haywards Heath 978-1-85225-013-3126 Main draw The results for the tournament are shown below. The numbers in brackets denote players seedings, whilst players in bold are match winners.1979 World Championships Results Grid http://snookerdatabase.co.uk/EventResultGrid.aspx?EventKey=33 Snooker Database 28 October 2010 24 January 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220124221454/https://www.snookerdatabase.co.uk/EventResultGrid.aspx?EventKey=33 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 200 yes 17, 18 & 19 April Ray Reardon WAL (1) 13 Graham Miles ENG 8 18 & 19 April Dennis Taylor NIR (8) 13 Steve Davis ENG 11 19 & 20 April Cliff Thorburn CAN (5) 10 John Virgo ENG 13 17 & 18 April John Spencer ENG (4) 11 Bill Werbeniuk CAN 13 16 & 17 April Eddie Charlton AUS (3) 13 Doug Mountjoy WAL 6 16, 17 & 18 April Fred Davis ENG (6) 13 Kirk Stevens CAN 8 16, 17 & 18 April Alex Higgins NIR (7) 13 David Taylor ENG 5 16 & 17 April Perrie Mans RSA 1928 (2) 8 Terry Griffiths WAL 13 20 & 21 April Wales Ray Reardon (1) 8 Northern Ireland Dennis Taylor (8) 13 20 & 21 April England John Virgo 13 Canada Bill Werbeniuk 9 19, 20 & 21 April Australia Eddie Charlton (3) 13 England Fred Davis (6) 4 19, 20 & 21 April Northern Ireland Alex Higgins (7) 12 Wales Terry Griffiths 13 22, 23, 24 & 25 April Northern Ireland Dennis Taylor (8) 19 England John Virgo 12 22, 23, 24 & 25 April Australia Eddie Charlton (3) 17 Wales Terry Griffiths 19 26, 27 & 28 April Northern Ireland Dennis Taylor (8) 16 Wales Terry Griffiths 24 26 & 27 April England John Virgo 3 Australia Eddie Charlton (3) 7 Last 16 Best of 25 frames Quarter-finals Best of 25 frames Semi-finals Best of 37 frames Final Best of 47 frames Third place Best of 13 frames Qualifying The results from the qualifying competition are shown below, with match winners denoted in bold:Embassy world professional championship Snooker Scene Everton's News Agency Birmingham May 1979 7–12 +Preliminary Round (Best of 17 frames)+Venues: Romiley Forum, Stockport; Northern Snooker Centre, LeedsPlayerScorePlayer Doug Mountjoy WAL 9–1 Derek Mienie RSA 1928 Terry Griffiths WAL 9–2 Bernard Bennett ENG Pat Houlihan ENG 9–5 John Barrie ENG Willie Thorne ENG 9–3 Jim Charlton AUS John Virgo ENG 9–0 Maurice Parkin ENG John Dunning ENG 9–5 Jackie Rea NIR Rex Williams ENG 9–2 David Greaves ENG Jim Meadowcroft ENG 9–7 Jimmy van Rensberg RSA 1928 Roy Andrewartha WAL 9–8 Ray Edmonds ENG Steve Davis ENG 9–1 Ian Anderson AUS Kirk Stevens CAN 9–1 Roy Amdor RSA 1928 +Qualifying Round (Best of 17 frames)+Venue: Romiley Forum, StockportPlayerScorePlayer John Virgo ENG 9–8 Willie Thorne ENG Bill Werbeniuk CAN 9–2 Roy Andrewartha WAL David Taylor ENG 9–8 John Dunning ENG Doug Mountjoy WAL 9–6 Pat Houlihan ENG Steve Davis ENG 9–2 Patsy Fagan IRL Terry Griffiths WAL 9–6 Jim Meadowcroft ENG Kirk Stevens CAN 9–0 John Pulman ENG Graham Miles ENG 9–5 Rex Williams ENG Century breaks There were 13 century breaks at the championship, the highest being 142 by Werbeniuk.Downer Chris Crucible Almanac The breaks: Crucible centuries by year 2019 162 There was also a £5,000 bonus for compiling a higher break than the championship record of 142. 142 Bill Werbeniuk 125 Cliff Thorburn 121, 120, 107, 101 Terry Griffiths 112, 105 Alex Higgins 112 John Spencer 110, 109 Fred Davis 106 Eddie Charlton 106 Dennis Taylor References 1979 1979 World Championship World Snooker Championship Category:Sports competitions in Sheffield World Snooker Championship