News of the World Snooker Tournament
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Venue | Burroughes Hall |
Location | London |
Country | England |
Established | 1949/50 |
Organisation(s) | World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association |
Format | Non-ranking event |
Final year | 1959 |
Final champion | Joe Davis |
The News of the World Snooker Tournament was one of the leading professional tournaments of the 1950s, widely considered as more important than the world championship due to the involvement of Joe Davis. The event was sponsored by the Sunday newspaper News of the World. The highest break of the tournament was 140 or more on four occasions, which was unusual at that time.[1]
There were three distinct periods in the tournament's history. The first six editions, from 1949/50 to 1954/55, were held at
After the closure of Leicester Square Hall in January 1955, the tournament was held at a variety of venues around England and Jersey from 1955/56 to 1957/58. The number of competitors was reduced to six, meaning that only 15 matches had to be played. Generally, two matches were played over the course of one week at each of the selected venues in turn, but otherwise the format of the tournament remained unchanged.
The format changed again in late 1958. All matches were held at
History
The first edition of the tournament was held between September 1949 and January 1950 using a similar format to the 1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament but without the "sealed handicap" aspect. Four players were involved in a qualifying competition, the winner joining seven others in the main event. The eight competitors in the main event were Joe Davis, Walter Donaldson, George Chenier, Horace Lindrum, Sidney Smith, Peter Mans and Albert Brown who won the qualifying event. The 1949 World Snooker Champion, Fred Davis, did not enter because he objected to the matches being played over three days rather than the normal six.[2] All matches were played over 37 frames and each player was given a handicap at the start of the tournament. Davis received a handicap of −7, Donaldson zero, Chenier 13, Lindrum 13, Smith 13, Pulman 14, Mans 16, and Brown 19. The player with the higher handicap received a start in every frame, his starting score being the difference between the two handicaps. Despite being the only player with a negative handicap, Joe Davis won six of his seven matches, and the tournament. Albert Brown had seemed the likely winner going into his last match,[3] but he lost the match and eventually finished in third place behind Sidney Smith.[4][5]
The
Winners
Source:[1]
Year | Winner | Record | Runner-up | Venue | Season |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
News of the World Snooker Tournament | |||||
1949/50 | Joe Davis | 6–1 | Sidney Smith | Leicester Square Hall in London
|
n/a |
1950/51 | Alec Brown | 7–0 | John Pulman | n/a | |
1951/52 | Sidney Smith | 6–2 | Albert Brown | n/a | |
1952/53 | Joe Davis | 8–0 | Jackie Rea | n/a | |
1953/54 | John Pulman | 7–1 | Joe Davis | n/a | |
1954/55 | Jackie Rea | 8–0 | Joe Davis | n/a | |
1955/56 | Joe Davis | 4–1 | Fred Davis | various venues used | n/a |
1956/57 | John Pulman | 5–0 | Fred Davis | n/a | |
1957/58 | Fred Davis | 4–1 | John Pulman | n/a | |
1958 | Fred Davis | 7–2 | Joe Davis | Burroughes Hall in London | n/a |
News of the World Snooker Plus Tournament | |||||
1959[9][10] | Joe Davis | 5–1 | Fred Davis | Burroughes Hall in London | n/a |
References
- ^ a b c Turner, Chris. "News of the World Tournament". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
- ^ "Snooker champion won't play". Dundee Evening Telegraph. 5 August 1949. Retrieved 25 December 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Brown should win snooker prize". Portsmouth Evening News. 7 January 1950. Retrieved 25 December 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Smith awaits Davis-Chenier result". Aberdeen Journal. 19 January 1950. Retrieved 25 December 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Davis wins £500 first prize". Aberdeen Journal. 21 January 1950. Retrieved 25 December 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Definitions of terms used in Snooker and English Billiards (search for snooker plus)". snookergames.co.uk. Snooker Games. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
- ^ "Snooker Plus". The Glasgow Herald. 27 October 1959. p. 10. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
- ^ Courcoux, Denise. "Snooker Plus Oct-Nov 1959 (60 years on)". Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ "Snooker Plus". The Glasgow Herald. 20 November 1959. p. 6. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ "Snooker Plus". The Glasgow Herald. 23 November 1959. p. 10. Retrieved 8 April 2014.