1972 World Snooker Championship
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Final venue | Selly Park British Legion |
| Final city | Birmingham |
| Country | England |
| Organisation(s) | WPBSA |
| Winner's share | £400 |
| Highest break |
 Alex Higgins (133) |
| Final | |
| Champion |
Alex Higgins |
| Runner-up |
 John Spencer |
| Score | 37–32 |
|
← 1971 1973 → | |
The 1972 World Snooker Championship (also known as 1972 Park Drive World Snooker Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a professional snooker tournament that took place between March 1971 and 26 February 1972.[1] In a preliminary competition the eight qualifiers were reduced to two, and they joined the eight other entrants in the competition proper. Those in the qualifying section included Alex Higgins, who became the first champion who played qualifying matches, and four former amateur champions, Ron Gross, Maurice Parkin, Pat Houlihan and Geoff Thompson. This was the first time the event was sponsored by Park Drive.[2]
Higgins was not extended until the semi-final when Rex Williams led by six frames before the Irishman won by the odd frame with a 61 break. Williams had beaten Ray Reardon 25–23, in a match contested in five different club venues in Scotland. John Spencer beat Eddie Charlton in the second semi-final played in Bolton from 10 to 15 January.
The final, played at Birmingham's Selly Park British Legion from 21 to 26 February,[2] was evenly matched until Higgins struck the front with a 6–0 victory in the Thursday evening session, a gap which Spencer was never able to close. Higgins' win made him the youngest champion at the age of 22 years, 345 days until Stephen Hendry won the title in 1990. Higgins also made the highest break of the tournament with 133.[3] The prize money was by arrangement with individual promoters; the winner Alex Higgins won £400.[2]
Main draw
First round Best of 37 frames
Alex Higgins 19–11 Jackie Rea
John Pulman 19–7 John Dunning
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| Best of 61 frames | ||||||||||
| John Spencer |
31 | |||||||||
| Best of 73 frames | ||||||||||
| Fred Davis |
21 | |||||||||
| John Spencer |
37 | |||||||||
| Best of 61 frames | ||||||||||
 Eddie Charlton |
32 | |||||||||
| Eddie Charlton |
31 | |||||||||
| Best of 73 frames | ||||||||||
| David Taylor |
25 | |||||||||
| John Spencer |
32 | |||||||||
| Best of 61 frames | ||||||||||
| Alex Higgins |
37 | |||||||||
| Alex Higgins |
31 | |||||||||
| Best of 61 frames | ||||||||||
| John Pulman |
23 | |||||||||
| Alex Higgins |
31 | |||||||||
| Best of 49 frames | ||||||||||
| Rex Williams |
30 | |||||||||
| Rex Williams |
25 | |||||||||
 Ray Reardon |
23 | |||||||||
Qualifying
Source:[5]
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References
- ↑ Turner, Chris. "On this Week: Ranking first for Carter". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 2 June 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
- 1 2 3 Turner, Chris. "World Professional Championship". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
- ↑ "2004 Embassy World Championship Information". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 8 December 2004. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
- ↑ "1972 World Championships Results". Snooker Database. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
- 1 2 "Embassy World Championship". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
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