News of the World Championship

News of the World Championship
Tournament information
Venue Leicester Square Hall
Location London
Country England
Established 1950
Organisation(s) World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
Format Non-ranking event
Final Year 1959
Final champion(s) Fred Davis

The News of the World Championship was the premium snooker tournament of the 1950s and widely considered as being more important than the world championship due to the involvement of Joe Davis.

History

One of the leading post-war professional tournaments, the event was sponsored by the Sunday newspaper News of the World and carried a £1,500 prize money. The event was first held at the Leicester Square Hall in London, where it remained until its disestablishment. The event was played on a round-robin basis. All tournaments used a handicap system, as Joe Davis deemed superior and his opponents were given 20 points per <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">frame</dfn>.[1] The 1959 event was played under the snooker plus format, which was introduced to the public by Joe Davis on 26 October at the Burroughes Hall, London.[2]

Winners

[1]

Year Winner Runner-up Season
1950 Joe Davis Sidney Smith n/a
1951 Alec Brown John Pulman n/a
1952 Sidney Smith Albert Brown n/a
1953 Joe Davis Jackie Rea n/a
1954 John Pulman Joe Davis n/a
1955 Jackie Rea Joe Davis n/a
1956 Joe Davis Fred Davis n/a
1957 John Pulman Fred Davis n/a
1958 Fred Davis John Pulman n/a
1959 Fred Davis Joe Davis n/a

References

  1. ^ a b Turner, Chris. "News Of The World Tournament". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/now.html. Retrieved 10 February 2011. 
  2. ^ "Snooker Plus". The Glasgow Herald: p. 10. 27 October 1959. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=p3dAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dKMMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2895,8253550&dq=snooker-plus&hl=en. Retrieved 9 April 2011. 
Ranking
Non-ranking
Variant events