Tournament information | |
---|---|
Dates | 30 October 1950 – 24 February 1951 |
Final venue | Tower Circus |
Final city | Blackpool |
Country | England |
Organisation | Billiards Association and Control Council |
Highest break | Walter Donaldson (SCO) (106) |
Final | |
Champion | Fred Davis (ENG) |
Runner-up | Walter Donaldson (SCO) |
Score | 58–39 |
← 1950 1952 → |
The 1951 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament. The final was held at the Tower Circus in Blackpool, England.[1]
For the fifth consecutive year, the final was contested by Fred Davis and Walter Donaldson. Davis won his third World title by defeating Donaldson 58–39 in the final.[1] Donaldson made the highest break of the tournament with 106 in frame 32 of his semi-final match against Horace Lindrum.[2][3]
After defeating the then 42-year-old Sidney Smith — runner-up in the 1938 and 1939 championships — in the quarter-finals, the 15-year younger John Pulman reached the semi-finals, where he played against the eventual winner Fred Davis, before he retired and gave Davis an early bye into the final.
The World Snooker Championship is a professional tournament and the official world championship of the game of snooker.[4] The sport was developed in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] The annual competition was not titled the World Championship until the 1935 tournament,[8][9] but the 1927 tournament is now referred to as the first World Snooker Championship.[10][11] 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.[12] Walter Donaldson was the defending champion, having defeated Fred Davis 51–46 in the 1950 final.[1]
Match | Dates | Venue, city | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Horace Lindrum v Albert Brown | 30 October–4 November 1950 | Blue Bell Hotel, Scunthorpe | [13] |
Fred Davis v John Barrie | 13–18 November 1950 | Co-operative Hall, Bolton | [13] |
Walter Donaldson v Kingsley Kennerley | 27 November–2 December 1950 | Blue Bell Hotel, Scunthorpe | [14] |
John Pulman v Sidney Smith | 11–16 December 1950 | St. John's Brigade Ambulance Hall, Accrington | [14] |
Fred Davis v John Pulman | 22–27 January 1951 | Burroughes Hall, London | [15] |
Walter Donaldson v Horace Lindrum | 22–27 January 1951 | Burroughes and Watts Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne | [15] |
Fred Davis v Walter Donaldson | 16–17, 19–24 February 1951 | Tower Circus, Blackpool | [16] |
Horace Lindrum established a 9-3 lead against Albert Brown on the first day of their match.[17] He extended hs lead to 18-6 on day two.[17] Brown took five of the six frames in the first session on day three, and Lindrum took the following session by that same margin, to lead 24-12.[17] By winning nine of the 12 frames on day four, Lindrum needed only a further four frames, and confirmed his progress to the semi-finals at 36-15.[17] The final score after dead frames was 43-28.[17] Lindrum's highest break of the match was 91; Brown's was 89.[17]
Fred Davis led John Barrie 12-6 but Barrie won the next two sessions 5-1 to narrow his deficit to two frames at 14-16.[17] Davis went on to win 36-28; after dead frames, the score was 42-29.[17] Davis's highest break of the match was 77; Barrie's was 73.[17]
Pulman withdrew due to influenza when trailing 14–22 against Fred Davis.[18]
Donaldson secured a winning margin at 36-25 against Horace Lindrum.[19] The final score was 41-30.[20]
Walter Donaldson and Fred Davis played the final in Blackpool, over 97 frames, in front of record crowds for a World Snooker Championship match. From 6–6, Davis moved into a 12–6 lead, reaching a winning margin at 49–36 before the match concluded 58–39.[16][21][22] Davis was presented with the championship trophy by BACC chairman John Bissett.[23]
Quarter-finals 71 frames | Semi-finals 71 frames | Final 97 frames | ||||||||||||
Walter Donaldson (SCO) | 41 | |||||||||||||
Kingsley Kennerley (ENG) | 30 | Walter Donaldson (SCO) | 41 | |||||||||||
Horace Lindrum (AUS) | 43 | Horace Lindrum (AUS) | 30 | |||||||||||
Albert Brown (ENG) | 28 | Walter Donaldson (SCO) | 39 | |||||||||||
Fred Davis (ENG) | 42 | Fred Davis (ENG) | 58 | |||||||||||
John Barrie (ENG) | 29 | Fred Davis (ENG) | 22 | |||||||||||
John Pulman (ENG) | 38 | John Pulman (ENG)[n 1] | 14 | |||||||||||
Sidney Smith (ENG) | 33 |
John Barrie met Sydney Lee at Burroughes Hall in London from 6 to 8 November. Barrie led 7–5 after the first day [27] and 15–9 after two days. He made a break of 101 on the second evening.[28] He eventually won 23–12.[29] Barrie then met Dickie Laws on the following three days also at Burroughes Hall. Barrie took an 8–4 lead,[30] increased to a winning 18–6 lead after two days.[31] The final score was 27–8.[32]
Round 1 35 frames | Round 2 35 frames | ||||||||
Dickie Laws (ENG) | 8 | ||||||||
John Barrie (ENG) | 23 | John Barrie (ENG) | 27 | ||||||
Sydney Lee (ENG) | 12 |
Early events | |
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Match-play | |
Challenges | |
Knock-outs | |
Crucible era | |
Related articles | |