1950/1951 News of the World Snooker Tournament

The 1950/1951 News of the World Snooker Tournament was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the News of the World. The tournament was won by Alec Brown who won all his 7 matches, finishing ahead of John Pulman who won 5 matches. The News of the World Snooker Tournament ran from 1949/50 to 1959.

News of the World Tournament
Tournament information
Dates9 October 1950 – 20 January 1951 (1950-10-09 – 1951-01-20)
VenueLeicester Square Hall
CityLondon
CountryUnited Kingdom
FormatNon-Ranking event
Total prize fund£1500
Winner's share£500
Highest breakEngland Joe Davis (143)
Final
ChampionEngland Alec Brown
Runner-upEngland John Pulman
1949/50
1951/52

Format

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The 1950/51 event was a round-robin snooker tournament and was played from 9 October 1950 to 20 January 1951. All matches were played at Leicester Square Hall in London. There were 8 competitors and a total of 28 matches. There were 8 competitors: Joe Davis, Fred Davis, Walter Donaldson, Albert Brown, Horace Lindrum, John Pulman and Sidney Smith together with Alec Brown who had won the qualifying event. Each match lasted three days and was the best of 37 frames.

Unlike the previous year's tournament, each match was separately handicapped. Joe Davis played level with Walter Donaldson[1] and gave Fred Davis 10, Albert Brown, Horace Lindrum and Sidney Smith, John Pulman 25 and Alec Brown 30. Fred Davis played level with Walter Donaldson and Horace Lindrum and gave Albert Brown 10, Sidney Smith 14, John Pulman 16 and Alec Brown 21. Walter Donaldson gave Albert Brown, Horace Lindrum and Sidney Smith 10, John Pulman 16 and Alec Brown 21. Albert Brown played level with John Pulman and gave Sidney Smith 3, Horace Lindrum 7 and Alec Brown 10. Horace Lindrum played level with Sidney Smith and gave John Pulman 7 and Alec Brown 11. Sidney Smith gave John Pulman 7 and Alec Brown 11. John Pulman gave Alec Brown 11.

Results

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In his last match John Pulman, receiving 25 points each frame, beat Joe Davis to move into second place in the table.[2] Joe Davis still had one match to play and could retake second place by winning 22 frames against his brother Fred in his last match.[3] Even though he had a break of 140 on the second day, Joe trailed 14–10 and could no longer get second place.[4] Fred eventually won 22–15.[5]

Joe Davis made a break of 143 in the third frame of his match against Walter Donaldson. He potted all the red, 12 blacks, 2 pinks and a blue and then all the colours.[6] He made a break of 101 the following day.[7]

Winner Score Loser Date
Fred Davis 21–16 Walter Donaldson 9–11 October
Alec Brown 20–17 Fred Davis 12–14 October
Alec Brown 23–14 Joe Davis 16–18 October
Joe Davis 20–17 Albert Brown 19–21 October
Albert Brown 22–15 Sidney Smith 23–25 October
Sidney Smith 23–14 Horace Lindrum 26–28 October
Joe Davis 20–17 Walter Donaldson 30 October–1 November
John Pulman 26–11 Walter Donaldson 2–4 November
John Pulman 20–17 Fred Davis 6–8 November
Alec Brown 23–14 Albert Brown 9–11 November
Alec Brown 20–17 Walter Donaldson 13–15 November
Joe Davis 22–15 Sidney Smith 16–18 November
Albert Brown 20–17 John Pulman 20–22 November
Alec Brown 21–16 John Pulman 23–25 November
Horace Lindrum 21–16 Fred Davis 27–29 November
Joe Davis 24–13 Horace Lindrum 30 November–2 December
Alec Brown 23–14 Sidney Smith 4–6 December
Albert Brown 21–16 Walter Donaldson 7–9 December
Walter Donaldson 19–18 Horace Lindrum 11–13 December
Fred Davis 21–16 Albert Brown 14–16 December
Sidney Smith 21–16 Fred Davis 18–20 December
John Pulman 20–17 Sidney Smith 21–23 December
Albert Brown 21–16 Horace Lindrum 1–3 January
John Pulman 19–18 Horace Lindrum 4–6 January
John Pulman 20–17 Joe Davis 8–10 January
Alec Brown 24–13 Horace Lindrum 11–13 January
Sidney Smith 20–17 Walter Donaldson 15–17 January
Fred Davis 22–15 Joe Davis 18–20 January

Table [5]

Pos Player Pld MW FW Prize
1   Alec Brown 7 7 154 £500
2   John Pulman 7 5 138 ?
3   Joe Davis 7 4 132 ?
4   Albert Brown 7 4 131 ?
5   Fred Davis 7 3 130 ?
6   Sidney Smith 7 3 125 ?
7=   Horace Lindrum 7 1 113 ?
7=   Walter Donaldson 7 1 113 ?

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).

Qualifying

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The qualifying tournament was played from 18 September to 7 October 1950. These matches were also played at Leicester Square Hall in London. As in the main event, each match lasted three days and was the best of 37 frames. There were 4 competitors: John Barrie, Alec Brown, Kingsley Kennerley and Sydney Lee. John Barrie and Alec Brown each won their first two matches which meant that the final match, between the two, would decide the winner. Alec Brown won a close match 19–18.[8] Kingsley Kennerley had beaten Sydney Lee 21–16 in their final match.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 2 November 1950. p. 6.
  2. ^ "Snooker and billiards". The Glasgow Herald. 11 January 1951. p. 2.
  3. ^ "Joe Davis". Dundee Courier. 19 January 1951. Retrieved 7 January 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Joe;s 402nd". Dundee Courier. 20 January 1951. Retrieved 7 January 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ a b "£1,500 snooker placings". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 22 January 1951. Retrieved 5 January 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Davis's snooker break". The Glasgow Herald. 31 October 1950. p. 2.
  7. ^ "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 1 November 1950. p. 7.
  8. ^ "Alec Brown wins by odd frame". Aberdeen Journal. 9 October 1950. Retrieved 5 January 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "Kennerley beats Lee by five frames". Aberdeen Journal. 5 October 1950. Retrieved 5 January 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.