World Professional Match-play Championship

The World Professional Match-play Championship was a professional snooker tournament established in 1952 as an alternative to the World Snooker Championship and held annually until 1957. A one-off event with the same name was held in Australia in 1976. The events from 1952 to 1957 are regarded as world championships but the 1976 is not.

World Professional Match-play Championship
Tournament information
LocationMelbourne
CountryAustralia
Established1952
Organisation(s)WPBSA
Final year1976
Final champion(s) Eddie Charlton

History

The World Professional Match-play Championship was set up in 1952 as an alternative to the Billiards Association and Control Council professional World Snooker Championship by some of the professional players following a dispute with the governing body. Fred Davis won the first five editions of the tournament, but didn't participate in 1957. The 1957 event was won by John Pulman, and after this the event was discontinued due to a decline in the popularity of snooker.[1]

A tournament with the same name was staged in 1976. Eddie Charlton promoted the event in Melbourne with WPBSA approval. Charlton beat Ray Reardon 31–24 in the final.[2]

The WPBSA refused to sanction a similar event in 1977 but in April 1978 they did agree to an event to be played in Australia in March 1979. Mike Watterson, the promoter of the World Championship, expressed disapproval for the event since there had been some confusion over which was the authentic World championship.[3] Charlton was unable to find a sponsor and the event was cancelled.[4] Charlton made another attempt to organise the event in January 1981 but this again failed because of the lack of a sponsor.[5]

Winners

[1][2]

Year Winner Runner-up Final score Season
World Professional Match-play Championship
(World Championship)
1952 Fred Davis Walter Donaldson 38–35 n/a
1953 Fred Davis Walter Donaldson 37–34 n/a
1954[6][7] Fred Davis Walter Donaldson 45–26 n/a
1955 Fred Davis John Pulman 38–35 n/a
1956 Fred Davis John Pulman 38–35 n/a
1957 John Pulman Jackie Rea 39–34 n/a
World Professional Match-play Championship
1976 Eddie Charlton Ray Reardon 31–24 1976/77

References
  1. Turner, Chris. "World Professional Championship". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  2. Turner, Chris. "World Matchplay". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  3. "Snooker – Confusion over two world events feared". The Times. 2 May 1978. p. 6.
  4. "Snooker titles cancelled". The Canberra Times. 53 (15, 862). 26 February 1979. p. 13. Retrieved 12 March 2016 – via National Library of Australia. Download
  5. "Eddie Snookered". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 November 1980. p. 27.
  6. Hayton, Eric (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker. Lowestoft: Rose Villa Publications. p. 144. ISBN 0-9548549-0-X.
  7. "Davis retains snooker title". The Argus. 8 March 1954. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
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