1939/1940 Daily Mail Gold Cup

The 1939/1940 Daily Mail Gold Cup was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the Daily Mail. The cup was won by Alec Brown with Sydney Lee finishing in second place in the final table. It was the sixth and last Daily Mail Gold Cup tournament, although only the fourth as a snooker event. The Daily Mail Gold Cup ran from 1935 to 1940.

Daily Mail Gold Cup
Tournament information
Dates16 October 1939–10 February 1940
Final venueThurston's Hall
Final cityLondon
CountryUnited Kingdom
FormatNon-Ranking event
Final
Champion Alec Brown
Runner-up Sydney Lee
← 1938/39
Last →

Format

The 1939/1940 event was a round-robin snooker tournament and was played from 16 October 1939 to 10 February 1940. Most of the matches were played at Thurston's Hall in London. There were 7 competitors and a total of 21 matches. Each match lasted six days and was the best of 61 frames, a reduction from the 71 frames played in previous years. The 7 included three competitors new to the event: Fred Davis, Walter Donaldson and Sydney Lee. The handicap system was the same as the previous year, each match having a separate handicap.

Joe Davis gave Sidney Smith 20, Alec Brown 25, Walter Donaldson 25, Fred Davis 30, Tom Newman 40 and Sydney Lee 45. Sidney Smith played level with Alec Brown and gave Walter Donaldson 10, Fred Davis 15, Tom Newman 20 and Sydney Lee 30. Alec Brown played level with Walter Donaldson and gave Fred Davis 10, Tom Newman 10 and Sydney Lee 25. Walter Donaldson played level with Fred Davis 15 and gave Tom Newman 10 and Sydney Lee 20. Fred Davis gave Tom Newman 10 and Sydney Lee 25. Tom Newman gave Sydney Lee 15.

Results

Joe Davis struggled with the harsh handicaps given against him and lost his first three matches. He then had a remarkable win against Sydney Lee . Conceding 45 points in every frame, Davis was 16–14 behind after three days play. He then won 16 of the 20 frames on the next two days to lead 30–20 and eventually won 35–26. Joe lost to brother Fred but won his last match against Sidney Smith. With a 20-point advantage, Smith led 29–26 but Davis won the first 5 frames of the final evening session to win the match and avoid the "wooden spoon".

[1]

WinnerScoreLoserDatesVenue
Fred Davis40–21Sidney Smith16–21 OctoberThurston's Hall, London
Alec Brown39–22Joe Davis23–28 OctoberThurston's Hall, London
Walter Donaldson32–29Tom Newman30 October–4 NovemberThurston's Hall, London
Sydney Lee37–24Sidney Smith6–11 NovemberThurston's Hall, London
Fred Davis32–29Tom Newman13–18 NovemberThurston's Hall, London
Walter Donaldson34–27Joe Davis20–25 NovemberThurston's Hall, London
Alec Brown33–28Sidney Smith27 November–2 DecemberThurston's Hall, London
Tom Newman35–26Joe Davis4–9 DecemberThurston's Hall, London
Fred Davis31–30Sydney Lee11–16 DecemberThurston's Hall, London
Sidney Smith33–28Walter Donaldson18–23 DecemberThurston's Hall, London
Alec Brown36–25Tom Newman1–6 JanuaryThurston's Hall, London
Sydney Lee39–22Walter Donaldson1–6 JanuaryBurroughes Hall, London
Joe Davis35–26Sydney Lee8–13 JanuaryThurston's Hall, London
Alec Brown35–26Fred Davis8–13 JanuaryManchester
Alec Brown35–26Walter Donaldson15–20 JanuaryThurston's Hall, London
Tom Newman32–29Sidney Smith15–20 JanuaryBurroughes Hall, London
Fred Davis35–26Joe Davis15–20 JanuaryHouldsworth Hall, Manchester
Sydney Lee37–24Tom Newman22–27 JanuaryThurston's Hall, London
Walter Donaldson37–24Fred Davis29 January–3 FebruaryThurston's Hall, London
Sydney Lee37–24Alec Brown29 January–3 FebruaryHayes, Middlesex
Joe Davis31–30Sidney Smith5–10 FebruaryThurston's Hall, London

Table

PosPlayerPldMWFW
1 Alec Brown65202
2 Sydney Lee64206
3 Fred Davis64188
4 Walter Donaldson63179
5 Tom Newman62174
6 Joe Davis62167
7 Sidney Smith61165

The positions were determined firstly by the number of matches won (MW) and, in the event of a tie, the number of frames won (FW).

References
  1. "Snooker". The Times. 12 February 1940. p. 2.
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