Tournament information | |
---|---|
Country | England |
Established | 1916 |
Organisation(s) | English Partnership for Snooker & Billiards |
Format | Amateur event |
Recent edition | 2024 |
Current champion | Steven Hallworth |
The English Amateur Championship is an annual snooker competition, the highest-ranking and most prestigious amateur event in England. It is also the oldest and longest-running snooker tournament in the world, having been established in 1916, three years before the standard rules of the game were first formulated in 1919 by the Billiards Association and Control Club and 11 years before the first World Snooker Championship.
Five winners of the tournament later became world champion: John Pulman, Ray Reardon, John Spencer, Terry Griffiths and Stuart Bingham. Three of the losing finalists—Joe Johnson, John Parrott and Ronnie O'Sullivan—also lifted the world title as professionals.
The first Championship was held at Orme's Rooms, Soho Square, London starting on Monday 28 August and finishing on Tuesday 6 September, with no play at the weekend. The event was promoted by the Billiard Association in aid of the Sportsman's Motor Ambulance Fund. Matches consisted of three frames with all frames played out. The winner was based on the aggregate points over the three frames. The winner of a frame received an additional 12½ points. [1] 21 players entered. Except on the last day, there were three matches per day, two in the afternoon and one in the evening. The first semi-final was on the evening of 5 September and resulted in a win for H. Sefton. Sefton won convincingly and his opponent conceded after two frames. [2] In the second semi-final, played the following afternoon, Charles Jaques also won easily, again playing only two frames after his opponent conceded. In the final Jacques won two of the three frames and won by a score of 202 to 140½. [3] The highest break reported during the championship was a 30 clearance. [4] Despite the fact that the event was raising money for a war-time cause, a few of the competitors chose to play under an alias, including the winner, who played as "E A Jay". [3]
The second Championship was again held at Orme's Rooms in Soho Square. It was held from Monday 19 February to Wednesday 28 February, with no play at the weekend. The event took the form of a "challenge" event with the winner of the qualifying event challenging the reigning champion, (Charles Jaques). As in 1916 the winner was based on the aggregate points. Early matches were over three frames. However, unlike the previous year, there was no bonus for winning a frame. [5] 20 players entered. The final of the challengers' competition was played over five frames on 27 February between "T N Palmer" and F Donohue. "Palmer" won 280 to 211, winning four of the five frames. [6] "T N Palmer" was an alias used by Harry Hutchings Lukens (1883–1941), an American businessman who worked for DuPont. [7] Lukens had also played in the 1916 event, losing in the quarter-finals. The final was played over seven frames, with four frames in the afternoon and three in the evening. Jaques won five of the seven frames, winning by a score of 330 to 296, despite Lukens winning the last frame 60 to 29. [8] The highest break reported was where "Cooke once took all the pool balls in a break of 27." [9] There was sufficient interest that a photograph of Jacques appeared in the "Daily Mirror". [10]
The third Championship was again held at Orme's Rooms in Soho Square. It was held from Wednesday 6 March to Tuesday 19 March, with no play at the weekend. The event took the same form as in 1917 except that there were only two matches per day. [11] 19 players competed, including Sam Mayo "the well-known comedian". [12] Mayo won two matches but had to scratch in his semi-final match against Harry Lukens. [13] Defending champion Charles Jaques was on active service and had been shot through the wrist and hence unable to defend his title. [14] This meant that the winner of the challengers event took the title. The final was between Harry Lukens and Sidney Fry. Lukens won five of the seven frames and won the match 390 to 301, winning the championship at his third attempt. [15]
The fourth Championship was again held at Orme's Rooms in Soho Square. It was held from Monday 31 March to Wednesday 9 April. There was a record entry of 29. [16] Sidney Fry beat Arthur Wisdom 166 to 117 in the challengers final and gained the right to play Harry Lukens. [17] In the final Lukens won four of the seven frames but Fry won by a score of 387 to 300. [18]
The fifth Championship was held at Burroughes Hall in Soho Square. It was held from Monday 23 February to Tuesday 2 March. The challenge format was dropped. Generally four matches were played each day. Defending champion Sidney Fry lost on the first evening. Just two days earlier he had won the Amateur Billiards Championship for the sixth time. [19] In the final Arthur Wisdom beat F S Miller by 356 to 283, winning five of the seven frames. [20]
The sixth Championship was again held at Burroughes Hall in Soho Square. It was held from Monday 21 February to Tuesday 1 March. There were 26 entries. On the final day, M J Vaughan from Coventry beat the holder, Arthur Wisdom, in the semi-final by a score of 180 to 152. Vaughan then played Sidney Fry in the final. At the interval the match was close with Fry leading by 8 points. The match continued to be tight with everything depending on the final black. Vaughan potted it and won the match 384 to 378. [21]
The seventh Championship was again held at Burroughes Hall in Soho Square. It was held from Monday 27 February [22] to Monday 6 March. The semi-finals were played on the Saturday. Jack McGlynn, then living in Nottingham, beat C Cox junior from Gravesend 423 to 301 in the final, winning 5 of the 7 frames. In the two frames he won, Cox only led by 7 and 4 points and McGlynn was a convincing winner. [23]
The eighth Championship was held at Burwat Hall in Soho Square. It was held from Monday 5 March [24] to Saturday 17 March. Walter Coupe, from Leicester, beat Jack McGlynn in the semi-final, winning all three frames. [25] Coupe played W Forshall from London in the final. Coupe won 6 of the 7 frames, winning 432 to 337. [26] The American champion, J Howard Shoemaker, was unable to play, having had an appendix operation on the second day of the tournament. [27]
The ninth Championship was again held at Burwat Hall in Soho Square. It was held from Monday 3 March to Wednesday 12 March. There were 24 entries. If a match ended tied on points the winner would be decided on frames won. [28] Defending champion Walter Coupe narrowly won his quarter-final against Fred Morley 147 to 143 despite losing two of the three frames. [29] Harford Olden beat Sidney Fry in the first semi-final while Walter Coupe beat H Crosland in the other. [30] In the final Coupe won 5 of the 7 frames, winning 413 to 333 to retain the title. He had built up a winning lead of 107 in the afternoon session, winning all four frames. [31]
The tenth Championship was again held at Burwat Hall in Soho Square. It was held from Monday 9 March to Monday 16 March. WL Crompton from Blackpool scored the first recorded 50 break in the last frame of his match against JH Forster. [32] Crompton then easily beat Walter Coupe by a score of 236 to 39. [33] In the final Jack McGlynn, the 1922 champion, beat Crompton 392 to 309 winning 4 of the 7 frames. After the afternoon session McGlynn held a 3-point lead but won the evening session by 171 to 84. [34]
The eleventh Championship was again held at Burroughes Hall in Soho Square. It was held from Monday 15 March to Tuesday 23 March. In the final W Nash of London won the first two but Fred Morley won the next two. Nash led by 228 to 204 mainly thanks to winning the first frame 75 to 36. Morley won two of the three evening frames but Nash won on aggregate by 383 to 356, [35]
There were two important changes for the twelfth Championship. Firstly, the results of matches were in future based on frames won, not aggregate points. Secondly, a system of regional qualifying was introduced. With this new system there was a big in entries – 68, of which 22 were from London. Two players qualified from the London section with one each from 11 "provincial sections". The London section matches and the final stages were held at Burroughes Hall in Soho Square. [36] The final stages started on Wednesday 23 February with one match each afternoon and evening with the final played on Wednesday 2 March between Ollie Jackson from Birmingham and Tony Casey from Liverpool. Jackson won two of the three afternoon frames and won the match 4–2. [37]
For the thirteenth Championship, matches in the final stages were extended to 7 frames with the final being over 9 frames. [38] The finals were held outside London for the first time, being held at Camkin's Hall in Birmingham. There were 40 entries. As in 1927 there were two qualifiers from London and one from the other sections. [39] 11 players qualified for the finals which started on Monday 27 February with the final on Saturday 3 March. Pat Matthews from Bristol played Frank Whittall from Birmingham in the final. Matthews led 3–1 before Whitall won the next three frames to lead. Matthews won frame 8 and then won the final frame 53–48 "after a great struggle" to win the match 5–4. [40]
49 players entered the fourteenth Championship. [41] The finals were again held at Camkin's Hall in Birmingham from 4 to 9 February. [42] Laurie Steeples from Rotherham beat Frank Whittall from Birmingham. Whittles led 4–3 but Steeples won the last two to take the Championship. [43]
The 1930 Championship was held at Thurston's Hall for the first time. Previous holders of the championship since 1920 who had retained their amateur status were given exemption to the final stages, but no other players could get a walk-over to the finals. [44] 52 players entered, including previous winners Walter Coupe, Pat Matthews and Laurie Steeples. [45] 10 players qualified, who played in 5 first-round matches, the winners joining the 3 past winners in the quarter-finals. [46] The finals were held from 24 March to 5 April. Laurie Steeples met Frank Whittall in the final for the second successive year. Steeples won all 4 frames in the afternoon session and won 5–1. [47]
The final stages of the 1931 Championship were again held at Thurston's Hall. There were 41 entries, including previous winners Pat Matthews and Laurie Steeples. [48] 9 players qualified: the 2 previous winners who entered, 2 from the London section and 5 from other sections. [49] The final stages immediately followed the London section qualifying, starting on 24 April. Heats were reduced to 5 frames with the final over 9 frames. [50] Steeples had to withdraw as he was on the way to Australia to play in the Empire Amateur Billiards Championship in which Sydney Lee was also competing. [51] Pat Matthews met Harry Kingsley in the final on 29 April, Matthews winning by 5 frames to 4. [52]
The final stages of the 1932 Championship were again held at Thurston's Hall. Previous winners Ollie Jackson and Pat Matthews entered and were joined by 2 qualifiers from London and 7 other qualifiers. [53] The final stages were from 2 to 7 May. In the final William Bach beat Ollie Jackson 5–3. In the 8th frame Bach cleared the last five colours to tie the scores and then won the frame on the respotted black. [54]
Following the match, Bach, a commercial traveller from Birmingham, was arrested on a charge of obtaining £50 by false pretences. Bach had forged two cheques in the name of a well-known Birmingham bookmaker and used them to obtain money from the assistant manager of the Midland hotel in Birmingham. Bach was sentenced to four months hard labour. [55] [56] He had been short of money and could not otherwise have played in the Championship. The prosecutor said he must be a man of iron nerves because police officers arrived while the final was in progress. [57] Bach had been in prison before. In July 1924 he had been sentenced to 5 years penal servitude for attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, having held a loaded gun to the neck of a Mr Kohn. Bach had married Mr Kohn's daughter in Gretna Green and as a consequence "a feeling of bitterness was engendered." [58] The marriage was annulled in 1927 on the grounds that the pair had not been resident in Scotland for the required 21 days prior to the marriage. [59]
The final stages of the 1933 Championship were held at Thurston's Hall. 50 players entered including previous winner Pat Matthews. [60] The final stages were from 25 to 28 May. In the final Edward Bedford beat Albert Kershaw 5–1. [61]
42 players entered the War-time Championship which were held at Burroughes Hall from 8 April to 3 May. There were no qualifying contests. [62] Matches were over 5 frames with the semi-finals over 7 frames and the 2-day final over 15 frames. Kingsley Kennerley met Albert Brown in an all-Birmingham final. Brown led 7–5 but Kennerley won the last 3 frames to win 8–7.
The final stages of the 1946 Championship were held at Burroughes Hall. 88 players entered of which 12 qualified for the final stages from 11 to 22 March. [63] [64] Heats were the best of 9 frames with final over 11 frames. John Pulman, from Exeter, beat Albert Brown, from Birmingham, 6–2 in the final. Pulman led 3–2 after the 3-hour afternoon session and won the first three frames in the evening. [65] Both players turned professional soon afterwards. [66] By a strange coincidence the two met in the first match of the 1947 World Snooker Championship qualifying competition, also at Burroughes Hall, from 2 to 4 January 1947. Albert Brown led 14–9 after two days and took a winning 18–9 lead on the final day. [67] Brown beat Kingsley Kennerley, the 1937 and 1940 Amateur Champion, in the final of the qualifying competition and advanced to the quarter-finals.
Alex Davies became the youngest winner in the history of championship in 2003 at the age of 15 years and 10 months. [68]
Year | Winner | Runner-up | Final score |
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1916 | Charles Jaques | H. Sefton | 202–140½ (2–1) |
1917 | Charles Jaques | Harry Lukens | 330–296 (5–2) |
1918 | Harry Lukens | Sidney Fry | 390–301 (5–2) |
1919 | Sidney Fry | Harry Lukens | 387–300 (3–4) |
1920 | Arthur Wisdom | F. S. Miller | 356–283 (5–2) |
1921 | M. J. Vaughan | Sidney Fry | 384–378 (4–3) |
1922 | Jack McGlynn | C. Cox | 423–301 (5–2) |
1923 | Walter Coupe | E. Forshall | 432–337 (6–1) |
1924 | Walter Coupe | Harford Olden | 413–333 (5–2) |
1925 | Jack McGlynn | W. L. Crompton | 392–309 (4–3) |
1926 | W. Nash | Fred Morley | 383–356 (3–4) |
1927 | Ollie Jackson | Tony Casey | 4–2 |
1928 | Pat Matthews | Frank Whittall | 5–4 |
1929 | Laurie Steeples | Frank Whittall | 5–4 |
1930 | Laurie Steeples | Frank Whittall | 5–1 |
1931 | Pat Matthews | Harry Kingsley | 5–4 |
1932 | William Bach | Ollie Jackson | 5–3 |
1933 | Edward Bedford | Albert Kershaw | 5–1 |
1934 | Charles Beavis | Pat Matthews | 5–2 |
1935 | Charles Beavis | Duggie Hindmarch | 5–3 |
1936 | Pat Matthews | Charles Beavis | 5–3 |
1937 | Kingsley Kennerley | William Dennis | 6–3 |
1938 | Pat Matthews | Kingsley Kennerley | 6–1 |
1939 | Percy Bendon | Kingsley Kennerley | 6–4 |
1940 | Kingsley Kennerley | Albert Brown | 8–7 |
1941–1945 No competition due to World War II | |||
1946 | John Pulman | Albert Brown | 6–2 |
1947 | Harold Morris | Charley Kent | 6–1 |
1948 | Sidney Battye | Tommy Postlethwaite | 6–4 |
1949 | Tommy Gordon | Sydney Kilbank | 6–4 |
1950 | Alf Nolan | Gary Owen | 6–5 |
1951 | Rex Williams | Percy Bendon | 6–1 |
1952 | Charles Downey | Jack Allen | 6–1 |
1953 | Tommy Gordon | George Humphries | 6–5 |
1954 | Geoff Thompson | Cliff Wilson | 11–9 |
1955 | Maurice Parkin | Alf Nolan | 11–7 |
1956 | Tommy Gordon | Ray Reardon | 11–9 |
1957 | Ron Gross | Stan Haslam | 11–6 |
1958 | Marcus Owen | Jack Fitzmaurice | 11–8 |
1959 | Marcus Owen | Alan Barnett | 11–5 |
1960 | Ron Gross | John Price | 11–4 |
1961 | Alan Barnett | Ray Edmonds | 11–9 |
1962 | Ron Gross | Jonathan Barron | 11–9 |
1963 | Gary Owen | Ron Gross | 11–3 |
1964 | Ray Reardon | John Spencer | 11–8 |
1965 | Pat Houlihan | John Spencer | 11–3 |
1966 | John Spencer | Marcus Owen | 11–5 |
1967 | Marcus Owen | Sid Hood | 11–4 |
1968 | David Taylor | Chris Ross | 11–6 |
1969 | Ray Edmonds | Jonathan Barron | 11–6 |
1970 | Jonathan Barron | Sid Hood | 11–10 |
1971 | Jonathan Barron | Doug French | 11–9 |
1972 | Jonathan Barron | Ray Edmonds | 11–9 |
1973 | Marcus Owen | Ray Edmonds | 11–6 |
1974 | Ray Edmonds | Patsy Fagan | 11–4 |
1975 | Sid Hood | Willie Thorne | 11–6 |
1976 | Chris Ross | Roy Andrewartha | 11–7 |
1977 | Terry Griffiths | Sid Hood | 13–3 |
1978 | Terry Griffiths | Joe Johnson | 13–6 |
1979 | Jimmy White | Dave Martin | 13–10 |
1980 | Joe O'Boye | Dave Martin | 13–9 |
1981 | Vic Harris | George Wood | 13–9 |
1982 | Dave Chalmers | Malcolm Bradley | 13–9 |
1983 | Tony Jones | John Parrott | 13–9 |
1984 | Steve Longworth | Wayne Jones | 13–8 |
1985 | Terry Whitthread | Jim McNellan | 13–4 |
1986 | Anthony Harris | Geoff Grennan | 13–9 |
1987 | Mark Rowing | Sean Lanigan | 13–11 |
1988 | Barry Pinches | Craig Edwards | 13–6 |
1989 | Nigel Bond | Barry Pinches | 13–11 |
1990 | Joe Swail | Alan McManus | 13–11 |
1991 | Steve Judd | Ronnie O'Sullivan | 13–10 |
1992 | Stephen Lee | Neil Mosley | 13–8 |
1993 | Neil Mosley | Eddie Barker | 8–5 |
1994 | Matthew Davies | Michael Rhodes | 8–5 |
1995 | David Gray | Paul Hunter | 8–7 |
1996 | Stuart Bingham | Peter Lines | 8–4 |
1997 | David Lilley | Robert Marshall | 8–7 |
1998 | Tim Bailey | Craig Butler | 8–3 |
1999 | David Lilley | Andrew Norman | 8–5 |
2000 | Nick Marsh | David Lilley | 8–5 |
2001 | Luke Fisher | Sunit Vaswani | 8–4 |
2002 | Martin Gould | Craig Taylor | 8–6 |
2003 | Alex Davies | Ben Woollaston | 8–7 |
2004 | David Lilley | Wayne Cooper | 8–6 |
2005 | David Grace | Andy Symons-Rowe | 8–3 |
2006 | Mark Joyce | Martin O'Donnell | 8–3 |
2007 | Martin Gould | David Lilley | 8–7 |
2008 | David Grace | Ben Hancorn | 9–7 |
2009 | Jimmy Robertson | David Craggs | 9–8 |
2010 | Jack Lisowski | Leo Fernandez | 9–2 |
2011 | Leo Fernandez | John Whitty | 10–6 |
2012 | Gary Wilson | Martin O'Donnell | 10–9 |
2013 | Stuart Carrington | Ben Harrison | 10–2 |
2014 [70] | Ben Harrison | Antony Parsons | 10–6 |
2015 [71] | Michael Rhodes | Billy Joe Castle | 10–6 |
2016 [72] | Jamie Bodle | Wayne Townsend | 10–9 |
2017 [73] | Billy Joe Castle | David Lilley | 10–7 |
2018 | Joe O'Connor | Andrew Norman | 10–3 |
2019 | Brandon Sargeant | Jamie O'Neill | 10–7 |
2020 [74] | Ben Hancorn | Rory McLeod | 5–3 |
2022 | Jamie Curtis-Barrett | John Welsh | 10–5 |
2023 | Paul Deaville | Leo Fernandez | 6–2 |
2024 | Steven Hallworth | Callum Downing | 6–4 |
The following players have won the tournament more than once: Pat Matthews (4), Marcus Owen (4), Jonathan Barron (3), Ron Gross (3), David Lilley (3), Charles Beavis (2), Walter Coupe (2), Ray Edmonds (2), Tommy Gordon (2), Martin Gould (2), David Grace (2), Terry Griffiths (2), Charles Jaques (2), Kingsley Kennerley (2), Jack McGlynn (2), Laurie Steeples (2).
David Lilley has reached the final on six occasions (winning 3/6).
The following players have been in the final on five occasions: Pat Matthews (4/5), Marcus Owen (4/5), Jonathan Barron (3/5), Ray Edmonds (2/5).
The World Snooker Championship is the longest-running and most prestigious tournament in professional snooker. It is also the richest, with total prize money of £2,395,000 in 2023, including £500,000 for the winner. First held in 1927, it is now one of the three tournaments that make up snooker's Triple Crown Series. The reigning world champion is Kyren Wilson.
Desmond Rex Williams is an English retired professional billiards and snooker player. He was the second player to make an official maximum break in snooker, achieving this in an exhibition match in December 1965. Williams won the World Professional Billiards Championship from Clark McConachy in 1968, the first time that the title had been contested since 1951. Williams retained the title in several challenge matches in the 1970s and, after losing it to Fred Davis in 1980, regained it from 1982 to 1983.
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 1928 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament held at various venues from 28 December 1927 to 17 May 1928. It was the second staging of the World Snooker Championship. It was played on a challenge basis with the other six entrants playing off for the right to challenge defending champion Joe Davis in the final. The final was held at the Camkin's Hall in Birmingham, England, with three of the other matches contested there, and one each played in Leamington Spa and Nottingham.
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 1931 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament held at the Lounge Hall in Nottingham, England from 27 April to 1 May 1931. Despite increasing interest in the game of snooker, only two players entered the competition for the title: defending champion Joe Davis and three-times runner-up Tom Dennis. It was the fifth time that the World Snooker Championship had been contested since its inception in 1927. Davis won his fifth World title by defeating Dennis 25–21. Dennis led 19–16 at one stage but Davis won 9 of the next 11 frames to take the title. The highest break of the match was 72, compiled by Davis in the 41st frame.
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 1936 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament that was held at the Burroughes and Thurston's Halls in London, England from 23 March to 2 May 1936. There were 13 entries; a significant increase from five in the previous year and just two in 1934. Defending champion Joe Davis won the Championship for the tenth consecutive time, defeating Horace Lindrum in the final 34–27. Horace Lindrum became the first Australian to compete at the World Championship and made the only century break of the tournament, a 101 in his semi-final match against Stanley Newman.
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The 1938 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament held from 14 March to 9 April 1938 at Thurston's Hall in London, England. It was the twelfth edition of the World Snooker Championship. Joe Davis won his twelfth championship title by defeating Sidney Smith by 37 frames to 24 in the final, after securing a winning margin at 31–23. The highest break of the tournament was 104, compiled by Davis in the sixth frame of his semi-final match against Willie Smith. It was the only century break during the event.
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.
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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.
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Burroughes Hall was an important billiards and snooker venue in Soho Square, London from 1903 until it closed in 1967. The hall was in the premises of Burroughes & Watts Ltd., who had been at 19 Soho Square since 1836. Burroughes & Watts opened a new billiards saloon in 1903, known as the Soho Square Saloon. This was re-opened as the Soho Square Hall in 1904 and was renamed Burroughes Hall in 1913. In 1967, control of Burroughes & Watts Ltd. was taken over by a group of property developers. The assets included 19 Soho Square, which was demolished and replaced by a modern office block.