World Professional Match-play Championship
Tournament information
LocationMelbourne
CountryAustralia
Established1952
Organisation(s)PBSA/WPBSA
Final year1976
Final champion Eddie Charlton (AUS)

The World Professional Match-play Championship was a professional snooker tournament established in 1952 as an alternative to the professional World Snooker Championship by some of the professional players, following a dispute with the Billiards Association and Control Council, the sport's governing body. Fred Davis won the first five editions of the tournament, but didn't participate in 1957, when John Pulman won. After this, the event was discontinued due to a decline in the popularity of snooker.

A tournament with the same name was staged in 1976. Eddie Charlton promoted the event in Melbourne with World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) approval. Charlton defeated Ray Reardon 31–24 in the final. The events from 1952 to 1957 are now regarded as editions of the world championships, but the 1976 one is not.

Background and 1950s tournaments

Snooker was developed in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India.[1] Professional English billiards player and billiard hall manager Joe Davis had 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.[2] In 1927, the final of the first professional snooker championship was held at Camkin's Hall; Davis won the tournament by beating Tom Dennis in the final.[3] The annual competition was not titled the World Championship until 1935,[4][5] but the 1927 tournament is now referred to as the first World Snooker Championship.[6][7]

In 1952, the World Professional Match-play Championship was created following a dispute between the Professional Billiards Players' Association (PBPA) and the BACC.[8] In response to player complaints that the BACC was taking too large a percentage of income from the tournament, the BACC claimed that the championship "has always been, and in theory is to be, regarded as an affair of honour and a test of merit", and that "every effort is made to arrange terms advantageous to the professionals competing in the championship, compatible with securing an equitable return for the promoters of it, the B.A.& C.C."[9][10] The PBPA members established an alternative competition which became known as the World Professional Match-play Championship,[11] and which was perceived by most snooker followers as the genuine title competition.[12] Editions of the World Professional Match-play Championship are now recognised as official world championships.[13]

Only two of the leading professional players, Horace Lindrum and Clark McConachy, had declined to join the PBPA, and they were the only two entrants to the BACC's 1952 World Snooker Championship.[14] Lindrum won their match, and therefore the title, 94-49 after dead frames.[13] The other professionals at the time, with the exception of Joe Davis who had retired from world title competitions, entered the PBPA's 1952 World Professional Match-play Championship.[15] There were ten participants, and the two finalists in the 1951 World Snooker Championship, Fred Davis and Walter Donaldson, were given byes to the semi-final stage in opposite halves of the draw. The remaining eight contenders played two rounds to determine the other two semi-finalists.[16] Davis won the final against Donaldson, finishing the last day at 38–35 after achieving a winning margin at 37–30.[17][18]

At the second edition, in 1953, Davis and Donaldson were again the finalists,[19] and were level at 33–33 in the final, before Davis won 37–34.[20] The pair also faced each other in the 1954 final, which Davis won 45–26.[21] Even before losing the match, Donaldson declared that he would not enter the championship again, saying he could not give enough time to the practice he felt was necessary.[22]

Davis retained the title in 1955, taking a decisive lead of 37–34 against John Pulman in the final,[13] and 38–35 after the remaining dead frames were played.[23] There were only four entries to the 1956 World Professional Match-play Championship,[21] Pulman led 31–29 at the end of the penultimate day of the best-of-73-frames final,[24][25] but Davis won five of the six frames in the afternoon session to lead 34–32 and added three of the first four frames in the evening to achieve a winning margin at 37–33. After dead frames, the final score was 38–35.[26][27]

Having won the first five editions of the World Professional Match-play Championship, Davis didn't participate in 1957, which again attracted only four competitors.[21] The 1957 tournament was held in Jersey and was won by Pulman, who defeated Jackie Rea 39–34 in the final. The only significant press coverage of the tournament was in the Jersey Evening Post.[11] After this, the event was discontinued due to a decline in the popularity of snooker.[13] There were no new players turning professional between Rex Williams in 1951 and John Spencer in 1967.[15][28] Clive Everton wrote in 2019 that "only very few permutations could be made from such a limited cast of players. The contests between them were devoid of bite, variety, surprise or any sense of occasion or importance."[15] The events from 1952 to 1957 are regarded as world championships by World Snooker, but later events with similar titles are not.[13][29][30]

1976 World Professional Match-play Championship

The BACC announced in September 1969 that "The BA & CC and Professional Billiard Players Association have reached agreement regarding procedure for turning professional and other events governed by the BA & CC."[31] However, following a dispute about the terms for a challenge match for the World Professional Billiards Championship, the PBPA disassociated itself from the BACC from 1 October 1970,[32] and was renamed the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) on 12 December 1970.[33]: 45  The 1976 World Professional Match-play Championship was promoted by professional player Eddie Charlton in Melbourne, with WPBSA approval. Charlton defeated Ray Reardon 31–24 in the final.[34]

The WPBSA refused to sanction a similar event in 1977 but in April 1978 they did agree to an event to be played in Australia in March 1979. Mike Watterson, the promoter of the World Championship, expressed disapproval for the event since there had been some confusion over which was the authentic World championship.[35] Charlton was unable to find a sponsor and the event was cancelled.[36] Charlton made another attempt to organise the event in January 1981 but this again failed because of the lack of a sponsor.[37]

Similarly named events

In July 1968, Williams and Charlton played a match, sanctioned by the BACC, billed as the World Open Match Play Snooker Championship. It was a challenge by Charlton for the World Open Snooker Championship title won in 1967 by Williams.[38]

In 1988, Barry Hearn promoted an invitational tournament, called the World Matchplay, for the top twelve players in the provisional rankings. It was held in the UK annually until 1992, and the 1988 event was the first snooker tournament to offer a six-figure winner's prize, £100,000.[39]

Finals

World Professional Match-play Championship finals[34]
Year Winner Runner-up Final score Ref.
World Professional Match-play Championship
(World Championship)
1952  Fred Davis (ENG)  Walter Donaldson (SCO) 38–35 [21]
1953  Fred Davis (ENG)  Walter Donaldson (SCO) 37–34 [21]
1954  Fred Davis (ENG)  Walter Donaldson (SCO) 45–26 [21][40]
1955  Fred Davis (ENG)  John Pulman (ENG) 38–35 [21]
1956  Fred Davis (ENG)  John Pulman (ENG) 38–35 [21]
1957  John Pulman (ENG)  Jackie Rea (NIR) 39–34 [21]
World Professional Match-play Championship
1976  Eddie Charlton (AUS)  Ray Reardon (WAL) 31–24 [41]

References

  1. ↑ Hayton, Eric; Dee, John (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History. Rose Villa Publications. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-9548549-0-4.
  2. ↑ Everton, Clive (23 September 2004). "Davis, Joseph [Joe]". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31013. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ↑ Morrison, Ian (1987). The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker. London: Hamlyn Publishing Group. pp. 27–30. ISBN 978-0-600-55604-6.
  4. ↑ "Snooker championship". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 11 May 1927. p. 20. Retrieved 12 March 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ "Billiards – Professional title". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 3 November 1934. p. 7. Retrieved 24 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ↑ Everton, Clive (1993). The Embassy Book of World Snooker. London: Bloomsbury. pp. 11–13. ISBN 978-0-7475-1610-1.
  7. ↑ "History of snooker – a timeline". World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  8. ↑ "World Snooker Title". The Glasgow Herald. 19 February 1952. p. 2. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  9. ↑ "The B.A.& C.C. and the world's professional snooker championship". The Billiard Player. Billiards Association and Control Council. November 1951. pp. 4–8.
  10. ↑ Everton, Clive (30 April 2009). "Neil Robertson set to rewrite history as first genuine Australian world champion". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  11. 1 2 Williams, Luke; Gadsby, Paul (2005). Masters of the Baize. Edinburgh: Mainstream. pp. 47–55. ISBN 978-1-84018-872-1.
  12. ↑ Everton, Clive (1986). The History of Snooker and Billiards. Haywards Heath: Partridge Press. pp. 59–63. ISBN 978-1-85225-013-3.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Turner, Chris. "World Professional Championship". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  14. ↑ Lowe, Ted (1984). Between frames. London: A & C Black. pp. 44–46. ISBN 978-0-7136-2446-5.
  15. 1 2 3 Everton, Clive (October 2019). "Snooker 1945–1957: from boom to bust". Snooker Scene. Birmingham. pp. 19–23.
  16. ↑ ""World" Snooker Draw". The Glasgow Herald. 4 October 1951. p. 7. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  17. ↑ "Leeds billiards player in title semi-final". Bradford Observer. 17 March 1952. p. 6.
  18. ↑ Kobylecky, John (2019). The Complete International Directory of Snooker Players – 1927 to 2018. Kobyhadrian Books. pp. 198–200. ISBN 978-0-9931433-1-1.
  19. ↑ "Embassy World Championship". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  20. ↑ "Professional snooker". The Times. 30 March 1953. p. 2.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Hayton, Eric (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker. Lowestoft: Rose Villa Publications. pp. 143–144. ISBN 978-0-9548549-0-4.
  22. ↑ "Snooker and Billiards". The Glasgow Herald. 5 March 1954. p. 4. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  23. ↑ "Snooker & billiards". The Glasgow Herald. 21 March 1955. p. 11. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  24. ↑ "Pulman two ahead with 13 to go". Lancashire Evening Post. 10 March 1956. p. 6.
  25. ↑ "Snooker & billiards". The Glasgow Herald. 10 March 1956. p. 7. Archived from the original on 4 July 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  26. ↑ "Played on Saturday". The Glasgow Herald. 12 March 1956. p. 11. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  27. ↑ "Snooker champion". The Times. 12 March 1956. p. 16.
  28. ↑ "Spencer turns professional". Billiards and Snooker. Billiards Association and Control Council. March 1967. p. 11.
  29. ↑ "History of the World Snooker Championship". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  30. ↑ "World Snooker Tour". wpbsa.com. WPBSA. Archived from the original on 11 May 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  31. ↑ "B.A. & C.C. Official". Billiards and Snooker. London: Billiards Association and Control Council. September 1969. p. 8.
  32. ↑ "Untitled article". Billiards and Snooker. London: Billiards Association and Control Council. October 1970. p. 4.
  33. ↑ Everton, Clive (2012). Black farce and cue ball wizards. Edinburgh: Mainstream. ISBN 978-1-78057-568-1.
  34. 1 2 Turner, Chris. "World Matchplay". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  35. ↑ "Snooker – Confusion over two world events feared". The Times. 2 May 1978. p. 6.
  36. ↑ "Snooker titles cancelled". The Canberra Times. Vol. 53, no. 15, 862. 26 February 1979. p. 13. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  37. ↑ "Eddie Snookered". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 November 1980. p. 27. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  38. ↑ Fryer, Bob (October 1968). "World Open Match Play Championship: Eddie Charlton 43, Rex Williams 30". Billiards and Snooker. Billiards Association and Control Council. p. 18.
  39. ↑ Turner, Chris. "World Matchplay". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  40. ↑ "Davis retains snooker title". The Argus. 8 March 1954. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  41. ↑ "Sports results". The Canberra Times. 14 December 1976. p. 15. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021 – via Trove.
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