Pot Black
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Pot Black is a UK television snooker tournament that has played a large part in the popularisation of the modern game.
In the late 1960s the BBC started broadcasting in colour, and were looking for programmes that could exploit this new technology. The game of snooker, with its multi-coloured balls, was suggested. The format of a knockout tournament, with weekly single-frame matches, was devised by BBC Birmingham producer Philip Lewis, and the programme first aired on July 23, 1969, on BBC2, presented by Alan Weeks, with match commentary by "Whispering" Ted Lowe. The first tournament was won by Ray Reardon. Mark Williams holds the highest break record of 119.
The success of Pot Black was immediate and phenomenal, and it became the second most popular programme on BBC2. Matches always ended with the potting of the black ball, which is often not bothered with in multi-frame matches.
Pot Black ran from 1969 to 1986, by which time professional snooker, with its long matches, had become so popular that the single-frame matches that Pot Black offered seemed almost irrelevant. There was a single "time-frame" tournament in 1991. A junior version, called Junior Pot Black, ran from 1981.
Pot Black's instantly recognisable theme tune was the ragtime classic Black And White Rag, composed by George Botsford and performed by Winifred Atwell.
It is often said that Pot Black is responsible for producing one of the most memorable British sports quotes. Legendary commentator Ted Lowe, aware that not all viewers had colour televisions, said the player is "going for the yellow ball by the sidepocket - and for those in black and white, it's next to the blue.". However, this quote is more likely to have occurred during a live snooker match, and not during the pre-recorded Pot Black - especially as it was featured on a '50 Years of ITV' special of It'll Be Alright On The Night, when Pot Black is a BBC show.
Pot Black featured all the top players of its time, among them many well-loved personalities such as Fred Davis, Ray Reardon, Graham Miles and Alex Higgins. Pot Black helped transform snooker from a minority sport with just a handful of professionals into one of the most popular sports in the UK, where every tournament is fiercely contested and the top players earn millions annually, but there is much nostalgia for the simpler, friendlier days of Pot Black.
A one-day Pot Black tournament was held on October 29, 2005, and broadcast on the BBC sports programme Grandstand. The invitational event featured eight players, namely Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stephen Hendry, Stephen Maguire, Matthew Stevens, Paul Hunter, John Higgins, Jimmy White and Shaun Murphy, with Matthew Stevens beating Shaun Murphy in the final.
A Celebrity Pot Black was held on 15 July 2006 in aid of Sport Relief. It was contested between the team of Ronnie O'Sullivan and Bradley Walsh and the team of Steve Davis and Vernon Kay. Steve Davis and Vernon Kay were the winners and became the first ever champions of Celebrity Pot Black.
The 2006 edition of Pot Black took place at the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall, London on September 2, 2006. Mark J Williams beat John Higgins in the final.
