Tournament information | |
---|---|
Dates | 12 December 1949 – 18 March 1950 |
Final venue | Tower Circus |
Final city | Blackpool |
Country | England |
Organisation | Billiards Association and Control Council |
Highest break | Fred Davis (ENG), 101 |
Final | |
Champion | Walter Donaldson (SCO) |
Runner-up | Fred Davis (ENG) |
Score | 51–46 |
← 1949 1951 → |
The 1950 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament held from 12 December 1949 to 18 March 1950. The final was staged at the Tower Circus in Blackpool, England. A qualifying competition was held at the Temperance Billiards Hall, known as the "Guild Hall", in Battersea, London from 17 October to 12 November 1949. Kingsley Kennerley won the qualifying competition and joined seven other players in the main draw.
For the fourth year running the final was contested by Fred Davis and Walter Donaldson. Donaldson defeated Davis 51–46 to win his second and last world title. Donaldson achieved a winning margin at 49–42 with only 6 frame s to play. The highest break of the tournament was 101 by Davis in frame 46 of his semi-final match against George Chenier. Chenier also made a century break, 100, in his quarter-final defeat of Peter Mans.
The World Snooker Championship is a professional tournament and the official world championship of the game of snooker. [1] The sport was developed in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India. [2] 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. [3] 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. [4] The annual competition was not titled the World Championship until the 1935 tournament, [5] [6] but the 1927 tournament is now referred to as the first World Snooker Championship. [7] [8] Davis had also won the title every year from 1928 to 1940, after which the tournament was not held again until 1946 due to World War II. [9] : 50–52 Fred Davis was the defending champion, having defeated Walter Donaldson 80–65 in the 1949 final. [10]
The closing date for entries for the 1950 edition was originally 1 August 1949. [11] However, about half of the leading players, including Horace Lindrum, refused to enter because of the BACC's stipulation that each player in a match should provide a stake of 20 guineas, with the stakes awarded to the match winner. [12] [13] It was reported later that month that only four players –defending champion Fred Davis, Donaldson, Jim Lees and Sydney Lee –had entered; on 10 August, the BACC decided to reduce the stake fee to 10 guineas (with an entry fee of 3 guineas) and extend the closing date for entries to 1 September. [14] [15] BACC member Henry Markland was quoted as saying that the reason for the increase to 20 guineas had been "to discourage the entry of low-grade professionals who are, frankly, out of their class in the championship." [12] Donaldson's withdrawal from the tournament was reported on 30 August; [16] a BACC meeting on that day decided to remove the stake fee entirely, for the first time since the championship was established in 1927, and further extend the closing date for entries until 7 September. [17] Donaldson said that as the Professional Billiard Players' Association demands had been met, he would now be participating. [17] Lindrum's manager T.B. Leng said that Lindrum would honour alternative bookings made rather than compete in the championship. [17] Sidney Smith's entry was not accepted by the BACC. [18]
The Sunday Empire News, which had sponsored a professional tournament in 1948, provided a prize fund: [11]
Matches were played over several days, with and afternoon and evening session each day, normally of six frame s each. [19] [20]
Match | Dates | Venue, city | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Albert Brown v John Pulman | 12–17 December 1949 | Market Tavern, Bradford | [21] |
George Chenier v Peter Mans | 2–7 January 1950 | Bluebell Hotel, Scunthorpe | [22] |
Walter Donaldson v Kingsley Kennerley | 9–14 January 1950 | Co-operative Hall, Bolton | [23] [19] |
Fred Davis v Alec Brown | 16–21 January 1950 | Accrington | [23] |
Walter Donaldson v Albert Brown | 6–11 February 1950 | Burroughes and Watts Hall, Newcastle | [19] |
Fred Davis v George Chenier | 6–11 February 1950 | Town Hall, Oldham | [19] |
Fred Davis v Walter Donaldson | 10–11, 13–18 March 1950 | Tower Circus, Blackpool | [23] |
The quarter-final matches were played across 71 frames. [24] John Pulman led Albert Brown 9–3 after the first day, but saw his lead reduced to two frames, at 13–11, after day two. [25] On the third day, Brown took eight of the 12 frames played, to lead 19–17, and the fourth day saw him dominate play to establish a ten-frame lead. [25] In the next three sessions, Pulman took 14 of 18 frames to level the match at 33–33. [25] After Brown had won the 67th frame, Pulman levelled at 34-all, but Brown took the next two frames for a decisive lead of 36–4, and added the dead frame for a final total of 37–34. [26] Brown recorded the highest break of the match, 88. [25]
Canadian George Chenier and South African Peter Mans refused to play at Scunthorpe unless they received an acceptable financial guarantee; they agreed to the BACC's offer of £150. [27] [28] Chenier built a four-frame lead on the first day and maintained this advantage at the close of day two. [19] By the close of the fourth day, Chenier was 29–19 ahead. [19] Mans closed the gap to eight frames on day five, and followed this by taking all six frames in the afternoon session on the final day, leaving him two frames behind at 32–34. [19] Chenier won the first two frames of the concluding session to confirm his progression to the next round at 36–32; the final score after dead frames was 37–34. [29] Chenier's break of 100 on day two was the highest of the match. [19]
Walter Donaldson's six-frame lead against Kingsley Kennerley following their first day's play was narrowed to four frames, at 14–10, after day two. [19] The pair each won six frames on day three, but Donaldson moved into a twelve-frame lead, 30–18, by the end of day four. [19] Kennerley reduced his deficit to ten frames during the fifth day, but Donaldson won the first frame on the final day to establish a decisive margin at 36–25. [19] After dead frames, the final score was 42–29. [19] The highest break of the match was 77 by Kennerley. [19]
Fred Davis was 15–9 up on Alec Brown after two days, the pair having finished the first day level at 6–6. [30] Davis won ten of the twelve frames on day four for 32–16. [31] He secured his passage to the final by winning the first frame of the evening session on the fifth day, at 36–17; the final score after dead frames was 44–27. [32] A 92 break by Davis was the highest of the match. [19]
In the semi-finals, matches were over 71 frames. [24] Davis won all six frames in the first session against Chenier. [33] By the end of the second day, Davis was 16–8 ahead, and with the players each winning six frames on both the third and fourth days, Davis was still eight frames ahead at 28–20 at the start of day five. [34] After the first session of the fifth day the difference was still eight frames, but Davis won five of six frames on the later session to secure a winning margin at 36–24. [34] [35] Davis added seven of the ten dead frames on the concluding day to finish 43–28 up. [34] The highest break of the match was 101 by Davis, in frame 46, on the fourth day. [34] [36]
The match report in The Billiard Player magazine described the match between Donaldson and Brown as "a palpitating struggle [that] included a great deal of dour and tense play". [34] The players were level at 9–9, 12–12 and 18–18, [37] [34] but Brown led 26–22 after taking five of the six frames of the second session on the fourth day. [34] Donaldson won the first five frames on day five, and the players were level again at 27–27. [34] Going into the last day, Brown led 31–29. [34] Donaldson took the first three frames of the afternoon session, which ended with the players all-square again, 33–33. [34] The 67th frame was won by Brown, but Donaldson took the next three frames to establish a decisive lead at 36–34. [34] [38] With the dead frame also going to Donaldson, the final score was 37–34. [34] Brown made the highest break of the match, 87. [34]
The final was played over 97 frames. [24] Davis led 8–4 after the first day, [39] but after two more days Donaldson levelled the match at 18–18, including winning five of the last six that day. [40] He took a four-frame lead the following day, [41] and maintained it for several days, [42] [43] eventually extending it to six frames at 45–39 on the penultimate day. [44] Donaldson's victory was confirmed on the last day when the score was 49–32, with the match ending at 51–46. [45] [46] One session of the match was watched by almost 3,000 spectators. [47] It was Donaldson's second and last world championship title. [10]
The Billiard Player magazine attributed Donaldson's success to his strong safety play and a below-par performance from Davis. [46] The highest break Donaldson achieved during the match was 80, with Davis's highest break 79. [9] A reporter for the Manchester Evening News commented about the final that, "So afraid were Fred Davis and Walter Donaldson ... of making any rash move which would cost them a frame that play was painfully slow at times." [48]
Quarter-finals 71 frames | Semi-finals 71 frames | Final 97 frames | ||||||||||||
Fred Davis (ENG) | 44 | |||||||||||||
Alec Brown (ENG) | 27 | |||||||||||||
Fred Davis (ENG) | 43 | |||||||||||||
George Chenier (CAN) | 28 | |||||||||||||
George Chenier (CAN) | 37 | |||||||||||||
Peter Mans (SAF) | 34 | |||||||||||||
Fred Davis (ENG) | 46 | |||||||||||||
Walter Donaldson (SCO) | 51 | |||||||||||||
Walter Donaldson (SCO) | 42 | |||||||||||||
Kingsley Kennerley (ENG) | 29 | |||||||||||||
Walter Donaldson (SCO) | 37 | |||||||||||||
Albert Brown (ENG) | 34 | |||||||||||||
John Pulman (ENG) | 34 | |||||||||||||
Albert Brown (ENG) | 37 |
The qualifying contest was held at the Temperance Billiards Hall, known as the "Guild Hall", [52] an 18-table hall in Battersea, London from 17 October to 12 November 1949. [53] Kingsley Kennerley met John Barrie in the first match. Kennerley won the first five frames [53] and led 15–9 after two days. He won the first three frames on the final day to take a winning 18–9 lead, eventually winning 21–14. [54] The winner of the match was due to play Jim Lees in the qualifying quarter-finals, [55] [52] but Lees withdrew. [56]
Willie Smith met Bill Withers in the second match of the week. Willie Smith led 10–2 after the first day and took an 18–4 lead on the second day. [57] The final score was 28–7. [58] After a 3-day break Sydney Lee met Conrad Stanbury. Lee led 15–9 after two days [59] and won 20–15. Herbert Holt met Dickie Laws in the last quarter-final match. Holt led 17–7 after two days and eventually won 26–9. [60] Kennerley met Willie Smith in the first semi-final and led 16–8 after two days. [61] Kennerley won 22–13. [62] Sydney Lee and Herbert Holt met in the second semi-final. Lee led 7–5 after the first day and 16–8 after the second day. Holt then got influenza and conceded the match. [63] Kennerley met Lee in the final. Lee took a 4–2 lead but Kennerley led 7–5 overnight. [64] Kennerley then extended his lead to 14–10, [65] and won 21–14. [49]
Round 1 35 frames | Round 2 35 frames | Round 3 35 frames | Final | ||||||||||||||||
Sydney Lee (ENG) | 20 | ||||||||||||||||||
Conrad Stanbury (CAN) | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||
Sydney Lee (ENG) | w/o | ||||||||||||||||||
Herbert Holt (ENG) | w/d | ||||||||||||||||||
Herbert Holt (ENG) | 26 | ||||||||||||||||||
Dickie Laws (ENG) | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||
Sydney Lee (ENG) | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||
Kingsley Kennerley (ENG) | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||
Willie Smith (ENG) | 28 | ||||||||||||||||||
Bill Withers (WAL) | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
Willie Smith (ENG) | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||
John Barrie (ENG) | 14 | Kingsley Kennerley (ENG) | 22 | ||||||||||||||||
Kingsley Kennerley (ENG) | 21 | Jim Lees (ENG) | w/d | ||||||||||||||||
Kingsley Kennerley (ENG) | w/o |
Walter Weir Wilson Donaldson was a Scottish professional snooker and billiards player. He contested eight consecutive world championship finals against Fred Davis from 1947 to 1954, and won the title in 1947 and 1950. Donaldson was known for his long potting and his consistency when playing, and had an aversion to the use of side. In 2012, he was inducted posthumously into the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association's World Snooker Hall of Fame.
The 1927 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament held at several venues from 29 November 1926 to 12 May 1927. At the time, it was titled the Professional Championship of Snooker but it is now recognised as the inaugural edition of the World Snooker Championship. The impetus for the championship came from professional English billiards player Joe Davis and billiard hall manager Bill Camkin, who had both observed the growing popularity of snooker, and proposed the event to the Billiards Association and Control Council. Ten players entered the competition, including most of the leading English billiards players. The two matches in the preliminary round were held at Thurston's Hall in London, and the semi-finals and final took place at Camkin's Hall in Birmingham. The players involved determined the venues for the quarter-finals, resulting in matches in London, Birmingham, Nottingham and Liverpool.
The 1929 World Snooker Championship, known at the time as the Professional Championship of Snooker, was a snooker tournament held between 17 December 1928 and 7 March 1929 at various venues in England, with the final taking place from 4 to 7 March 1929 at the Lounge Hall, Nottingham. Defending champion Joe Davis won the title for the third time by defeating Tom Dennis by 19 frames to 14 in the final, after securing a winning margin at 17–12.
The 1930 World Snooker Championship, known at the time as the Professional Championship of Snooker, was a snooker tournament held between 17 March and 23 May 1930 at various venues in England, with the final taking place from 19 to 24 May at Thurston's Hall, London. Defending champion Joe Davis won the title for the fourth time by defeating Tom Dennis by 25 frames to 12 in the final.
The 1932 World Snooker Championship, known at the time as the Professional Championship of Snooker, was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 14 to 20 April 1932, with the final being held at Thurston's Hall in London, England. It is recognised as the sixth edition of the World Snooker Championship. The defending champion, Joe Davis from England, won the title for the sixth time by defeating New Zealander Clark McConachy by 30 frames to 19 in the final. The score when Davis achieved a winning margin was 25–18, with dead frames played afterwards. Davis set a new Championship record break of 99 in the 36th frame of the final. McConachy had become the first player from outside the British Isles to enter the championship. The only other participant was Tom Dennis, who was defeated 11–13 by McConachy in the semi-final at Skegness.
The 1933 World Snooker Championship, known at the time as the Professional Championship of Snooker, was a snooker tournament held between 23 March and 16 June at various venues in England, with the final beginning on 12 June 1933 at Joe Davis's Saloon in Chesterfield, England. It was the seventh edition of the championship, and Joe Davis won his seventh title by defeating Willie Smith by 25 frames to 18 in the final. The highest break of the tournament was 72, compiled by Davis in the fortieth frame of the final.
The 1934 World Snooker Championship, known at the time as the Professional Championship of Snooker, was a snooker tournament held partly at the Lounge Hall in Nottingham and then at the Central Hall in Kettering, from 2 to 6 April 1934. Joe Davis won the title for the eighth time by defeating Tom Newman, the only other entrant, by 25 frames to 22. At one stage Newman led 14–13, but Davis then pulled ahead to lead 24–18 and, although Newman won the next four frames, Davis took the 47th frame to secure the title. Davis compiled a break of 70 in the third frame.
The 1935 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament held at Thurston's Hall in London, England from 8 to 27 April 1935. It was the first edition of the Championship to incorporate "world" in its name, being called the World's Professional Snooker Championship. Joe Davis won the title for the ninth time by defeating Willie Smith by 28 frames to 21 in the final, having achieved a winning margin at 25–20. Davis recorded the first century break in the history of the championship, a 110 in his semi-final match against Tom Newman.
The 1939 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament held at Thurston's Hall in London, England from 23 January to 4 March 1939. It was the thirteenth edition of the World Snooker Championship. Joe Davis retained the championship title that he had held since 1927. In the best-of-73-frames final against Sidney Smith, Davis won the match 43–30, securing the victory at 37-25 earlier in the match. Fred Davis set a new championship highest break by compiling a 113 in the 22nd frame of his 14–17 semi-final defeat by his brother Joe Davis.
The 1940 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament held at Thurston's Hall in London, England from 22 February to 20 March 1940. It was the fourteenth edition of the World Snooker Championship. Joe Davis defeated his younger brother Fred Davis by 37 frames to 36 in the final, to retain the title that he had held since the tournament's inception in 1927. Joe Davis compiled a century break in the penultimate frame to win the match at 37–35 before a dead frame was played out. The only other century break of the tournament was 101 by Fred Davis earlier in the final.
The 1946 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament held from 4 February to 18 May 1946. Joe Davis won the title by defeating Horace Lindrum by 78 frames to 67 in the final, although the winning margin was reached at 73–62. It was Davis's fifteenth championship win, maintaining his unbeaten record in the tournament since its first edition in 1927. The highest break of the event was 136, a new championship record, compiled by Davis in the final.
The 1947 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 20 January to 25 October 1947. The final was held at the Leicester Square Hall in London, England, from 13 to 25 October. The semi-finals were completed in March, but the final was delayed due to building works at the venue, which had been bombed in October 1940. Walter Donaldson won the title by defeating Fred Davis by 82 frames to 63 in the final, although he reached the winning margin earlier, at 73–49. Davis made the highest break of the tournament with a 135 clearance in frame 86 of the final.
The 1948 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 9 March to 1 May 1948. It was an edition of the World Snooker Championship first held in 1927. A qualifying event with eight participants was held from 1 to 13 December 1947 at Burroughes Hall and was won by John Pulman, who joined seven other players in the main event.
The 1949 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament held at Leicester Square Hall in London, England from 21 February to 7 May 1949, organised by the Billiards and Snooker Control Council. There were 12 entrants, of which eight participated in the main draw. Seven players were placed directly into the main draw. They were joined by Conrad Stanbury, who won the qualifying competition which was held from 10 to 19 February at the same venue. Stanbury won all three of his qualifying matches on the deciding frame.
The 1951 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament. The final was held at the Tower Circus in Blackpool, England.
The 1952 World Professional Match-play Championship was a snooker tournament held from 12 November 1951 to 15 March 1952, with the final taking place at the Tower Circus in Blackpool, England. The event was created following a dispute between the Professional Billiard Players' Association (PBPA) and the Billiards Association and Control Council (BACC). The BACC claimed that the championship was primarily about honour, and financial consideration should come behind this, whilst the PBPA members felt that the BACC was taking too large a share of the income from the events and established an alternative 'world championship' called the World Professional Match-play Championship, editions of which are now recognised as world championships.
The 1952 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament held between 25 February and 8 March 1952 at Houldsworth Hall, in Manchester, England. The event featured only two entrants – Australian Horace Lindrum and New Zealander Clark McConachy. Due to a dispute between the Professional Billiards Players' Association (PBPA) and the Billiards Association and Control Council (BACC), most players withdrew from the event. The BACC thought the championship was primarily about honour, and financial consideration should come second, whilst the PBPA disagreed. The PBPA established an alternative 'world championship' called the PBPA Snooker Championship which would later become the official world championship as the World Professional Match-play Championship.
The 1954 World Professional Match-play Championship was a professional snooker tournament held from 5 October 1953 to 6 March 1954 across various locations in the British Isles. The final was held at Houldsworth Hall in Manchester, England. Fred Davis won his sixth World Snooker Championship title by defeating Walter Donaldson by 45 frames to 26 in the final after securing a winning lead at 36–15. Donaldson compiled a break of 121, the highest of the tournament, on the last day of the final.
The 1956 World Professional Match-play Championship was a snooker tournament that took place from 9 January to 10 March 1956 with the final being held at the Tower Circus in Blackpool, England from 5 to 10 March. Fred Davis won his eighth and last world snooker title by defeating John Pulman by 38 frames to 35 in the final. Pulman led 31–29 going into the last day of the final on 10 March, but Davis won 8 of the first 10 frames on that day to take a winning lead of 37–33. The event, organised by the Professional Billiards Players' Association, is now recognised as an edition of the World Snooker Championship.
The 1957 World Professional Match-play Championship was a professional snooker tournament held from 1 to 13 April in Saint Helier, Jersey. This was the 1957 edition of the World Snooker Championship, first held in 1927. John Pulman won the event for the first time by defeating Jackie Rea 39–34 in the 73-frame final. Rea led in the early stages but Pulman pulled ahead and took a winning lead of 37–29 after the final afternoon session.