1975 World Snooker Championship

The 1975 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 9 April and 1 May 1975 across Australia. The event was the 1975 edition of the World Snooker Championship, first held in 1927. The tournament featured 27 participants, 8 of which were seeded and received byes to the second round. The event featured a prize fund of A$30,000 with the winner receiving A$7,500. This was the second (and to date last) World Snooker Championship to be held outside of the United Kingdom.

1975 World Snooker Championship
Tournament information
Dates9 April – 1 May 1975 (1975-04-09 – 1975-05-01)
Final venueNunawading Basketball Centre
Final cityMelbourne
CountryAustralia
OrganisationWPBSA
Total prize fundA$30,000
Winner's shareA$7,500
Highest break David Taylor (ENG) (128)
Final
Champion Ray Reardon (WAL)
Runner-up Eddie Charlton (AUS)
Score31–30
← 1974
1976 →

The final was held at the Nunawading Basketball Centre on Burwood Highway, in Burwood East, Victoria. Ray Reardon played Eddie Charlton in a best-of-61 frames match. Reardon won 10 of the 12 frames on the second day to lead 16–8 but Eddie Charlton won the first nine frames on day three to lead. Reardon then led 23–21 before Charlton won eight frames in a row to lead 29–23 requiring just two of the last nine frames to win. However Reardon then won 7 frames in a row to lead again and, although Charlton levelled the match at 30–30, Reardon won the deciding frame to win 31–30.

Overview
1975 World Snooker Championship is located in New South Wales
Sydney
Sydney
Wollongong
Wollongong
Queanbeyan
Queanbeyan
Gosford
Gosford
Goulburn
Goulburn
Grafton
Grafton
Tamworth
Tamworth
Albury
Albury
Broken Hill
Broken Hill
Cooma
Cooma
Canberra
Canberra
Venues in New South Wales and ACT
1975 World Snooker Championship is located in Australia
Brisbane
Brisbane
Melbourne
Melbourne
Other venues in Australia

The World Snooker Championship is a professional tournament and the official world championship of the game of snooker.[1] Founded in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India,[2] the sport was popular in the British Isles.[3] However, in the modern era it has become increasingly popular worldwide, especially in East and Southeast Asian nations such as China, Hong Kong and Thailand.[lower-alpha 1][3][5][6]

Joe Davis won the first World Championship in 1927, the final match being held in Camkin's Hall, Birmingham, England.[7] Ray Reardon was the defending champion in 1975, having defeated Graham Miles 22-12 in the 1974 final.[8][9]

Format

The championship was held from 9 April to 1 May 1975 at multiple locations across Australia.[10] This was the second time since 1969 that the championship was held outside the United Kingdom, after 1971.[10][lower-alpha 2] Tobacco brand Park Drive did not continue their sponsorship from 1974.[11] The WPBSA appointed Eddie Charlton Promotions as the promoter.[11][12] The event featured 27 participants, with a preliminary round, and eight seeded players who were awarded byes to the second round.[13] The number of frames increased during the tournament, with the opening rounds being the best of 29, the quarter-finals and semi-finals best of 37 and the final a best of 61 frames match.[14]

There was controversy about the seedings. John Spencer was seeded 8 which meant that he met top seed Ray Reardon in the quarter-final; the pair were regarded as the two leading players. 1972 champion Alex Higgins was also in the top half of the draw, while promoter Eddie Charlton was in the bottom half.[11][15]

Schedule
Schedule of matches for the 1975 World Snooker Championship
Match Dates Venue, city Ref
David Greaves v Jim Charlton9–10 April 1975Woonona-Bulli RSL Memorial Hall, Wollongong, NSW[16][17]
Phil Tarrant v Bernard Bennett10–11 April 1975City Tattersalls Club, Sydney, NSW[16][17][18]
Lou Condo v Maurice Parkin10–11 April 1975Queanbeyan Leagues Club, NSW[16][17][18]
John Pulman v Phil Tarrant13–14 April 1975Auburn Baseball Club, NSW[19][20][21][22]
Warren Simpson v Ron Mares14–15 April 1975Central Coast Leagues Club, Gosford, NSW[21][22][23][24]
David Taylor v Rex King14–15 April 1975Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney, NSW[22][24]
Ian Anderson v Lou Condo14–15 April 1975Bentleigh Club, Melbourne, Victoria[21][22][24]
Dennis Taylor v Perrie Mans14–15 April 1975City Tattersalls Club, Sydney, NSW[21][22][23][24]
Gary Owen v David Greaves14–15 April 1975Goulburn Workers' Club, NSW[22][23][24]
Bill Werbeniuk v Jim Meadowcroft14–15 April 1975Grafton District Services Club, NSW[21][22][24]
Cliff Thorburn v Paddy Morgan14–15 April 1975Tamworth Workers' Club, NSW[21][22][23][24]
Ray Reardon v Warren Simpson16–17 April 1975Central Coast Leagues Club, Gosford, NSW[25][26][27][28]
Rex Williams v Ian Anderson16–17 April 1975Bentleigh Club, Melbourne, Victoria[25][26][27][28]
Cliff Thorburn v Graham Miles16–17 April 1975Queanbeyan Leagues Club, NSW[25][26][27][28]
John Spencer v John Pulman17–18 April 1975Dapto Leagues Club, Wollongong, NSW[27][28]
Alex Higgins v David Taylor17–18 April 1975Albury SS&A, NSW[28]
Dennis Taylor v Fred Davis17–18 April 1975Marrickville RSL Club, Sydney, NSW[27][28]
Gary Owen v John Dunning17–18 April 1975Broken Hill RSL Club, NSW[27][28]
Eddie Charlton Bill Werbeniuk17–18 April 1975Grafton District Services Club, NSW[27][28]
Ray Reardon v John Spencer21–23 April 1975Cooma RSL Club, NSW[29][30][31][32][33][34]
Alex Higgins v Rex Williams21–23 April 1975Wentworthville Leagues Club, Sydney, NSW[29][30][31][32][33][34]
Dennis Taylor v Gary Owen21–23 April 1975Harbord Diggers' Club, Sydney, NSW[29][30][31][32][33][34]
Eddie Charlton v Cliff Thorburn21–23 April 1975Sherwood Services Club, Brisbane, Queensland[29][30][31][32][33][34]
Ray Reardon v Alex Higgins24–26 April 1975Canberra Workers' Club, ACT[35][36]
Eddie Charlton v Dennis Taylor24–26 April 1975Past Brothers Club, Brisbane, Queensland[35][36]
Ray Reardon v Eddie Charlton27 April–1 May 1975Nunawading Basketball Centre, Melbourne, Victoria[37][38][39][40][41]

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:[42]

  • Winner: A$7,500
  • Runner-up: A$4,000
  • Semi-final: A$3.000
  • Quarter-final: A$1,500
  • Last 16: A$750
  • Total: A$30,000

Tournament summary

Most of the early round matches were played in New South Wales although the semi-finals were played in Canberra and Brisbane with the final in Melbourne.[42] South African Professional Championship winner Perrie Mans was defeated in the opening round, by Dennis Taylor 15-12.[23][24] Mans was down by two frames after the first session, but recovered to 7-7, before Taylor pulled ahead in the third session.[21][22]

Reardon and Higgins were level at 10-10; Reardon went on to win 19-14.[11]

The final was held at the Nunawading Basketball Centre on Burwood Highway, in Burwood East, Victoria, as the best of 61 frames.[43] Reardon led 16-8, but Charlton then won the next nine frames to take the lead.[11] Reardon was ahead 22-20, but Charlton won eight of the following frames lead 28-23.[11] Reardon produced a seven-frame winning streak to leave himself needing one further frame at 30-29.[11] Charlton won the 60th frame.[11] In the deciding frame, Reardon made a 62 break, to claim victory at 31–30.[11] It was Reardon's third consecutive championship win,[11] and his fourth overall.[44] In all, he won six world titles.[44]

The tournament received significantly less UK press coverage than the three preceding world championships had; the level of coverage in the Australian press was described as "very poor" by Snooker Scene.[45]

Results

Preliminary matches

Results of the preliminary matches were as follows.

Best of 29 frames
 Phil Tarrant (AUS)15–8 Bernard Bennett (ENG)
 Lou Condo (AUS)15–8 Maurice Parkin (ENG)
 David Greaves (ENG)15–14 Jim Charlton (AUS)

Main draw

Below is the results from the event. Players in bold denote match winners, whilst numbers in brackets are the players seeding.[46][47]

Round 1
Best of 29 frames 		Round 2
Best of 29 frames 		Quarter-finals
Best of 37 frames 		Semi-finals
Best of 37 frames 		Final
Best of 61 frames
 Ray Reardon (WAL) (1) 15
 Warren Simpson (AUS) 15  Warren Simpson (AUS) 11
 Ron Mares (AUS) 5 Wales Ray Reardon (1) 19
England John Spencer (8) 17
 John Spencer (ENG) (8) 15
 John Pulman (ENG) 15  John Pulman (ENG) 10
 Phil Tarrant (AUS) 5 Wales Ray Reardon (1) 19
Northern Ireland Alex Higgins (5) 14
 Alex Higgins (NIR) (5) 15
 David Taylor (ENG) 15  David Taylor (ENG) 2
 Rex King (AUS) 8 Northern Ireland Alex Higgins (5) 19
England Rex Williams (4) 12
 Rex Williams (ENG) (4) 15
 Ian Anderson (AUS) 15  Ian Anderson (AUS) 4
 Lou Condo (AUS) 8 Wales Ray Reardon (1) 31
Australia Eddie Charlton (7) 30
 Fred Davis (ENG) (3) 14
 Dennis Taylor (NIR) 15  Dennis Taylor (NIR) 15
 Perrie Mans (SAF) 12 Northern Ireland Dennis Taylor 19
Wales Gary Owen 9
 John Dunning (ENG) (6) 8
 Gary Owen (WAL) 15  Gary Owen (WAL) 15
 David Greaves (ENG) 3 Northern Ireland Dennis Taylor 12
Australia Eddie Charlton (7) 19
 Eddie Charlton (AUS) (7) 15
 Bill Werbeniuk (CAN) 15  Bill Werbeniuk (CAN) 11
 Jim Meadowcroft (ENG) 9 Australia Eddie Charlton (7) 19
Canada Cliff Thorburn 12
 Graham Miles (ENG) (2) 2
 Cliff Thorburn (CAN) 15  Cliff Thorburn (CAN) 15
 Paddy Morgan (AUS) 6

Notes
  1. The "modern era" of snooker is understood to have started in 1969, when the World Championship reverted to a knockout format.[4]
  2. Two challenge matches for the championship in 1965 were held in South Africa.[10]

References
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