1954 World Professional Match-play Championship

The 1954 World Professional Match-play Championship was a snooker tournament. The final was held at Houldsworth Hall in Manchester, England.[1]

World Professional Match-play Championship
Tournament information
Dates5 October 1953–6 March 1954
Final venueHouldsworth Hall
Final cityManchester
CountryEngland
Highest breakWalter Donaldson (121)
Final
Champion Fred Davis
Runner-up Walter Donaldson
Score45–26
1953
1955

Fred Davis won his sixth World title Walter Donaldson 45–26 in the final,[1][2] although he already reached the winning margin at 37–17.[3] Davis held the highest break of the tournament, 109, until Donaldson made a break of 121 on the last day of the final.[4][5][6]

Schedule

MatchDatesVenue, City
Harry Stokes v Rex Williams5–7 October 1953Edinburgh
Alec Brown v John Barrie9–12 November 1953Ealing, London
Fred Davis v Harry Stokes16–20 November 1953Middlesbrough
Walter Donaldson v Kingsley Kennerley1–5 December 1953Jersey
John Pulman v Jackie Rea7–11 December 1953RAOB Hall, Belfast
Fred Davis v John Pulman18–23 January 1954Bolton
Walter Donaldson v Alec Brown18–23 January 1954Carlton Barracks, Leeds
Fred Davis v Walter Donaldson1–6 March 1954Houldsworth Hall, Manchester

Detail

Alec Brown and John Barrie met in the first quarter-final match in Ealing, London. Brown took a 10–8 lead after the first day and led 18–12 after two days and 26–22 after three days.[7][8] Brown won with a final score of 35–26.[9]

Fred Davis met Harry Stokes in the second semi-final in Middlesbrough. Davis dominated and led 29–7 after three days, which included a break of 109 of the third day.[5] Davis took a winning 38–10 lead after four days and eventually won 45–15.[10]

Walter Donaldson and Kingsley Kennerley met in the third quarter-final in Jersey. Donaldson led 30–18 after four days, needing just one more frame on the final day, and eventually won 36–25.[11]

John Pulman and Jackie Rea met in Belfast in the last quarter-final. It was closest of the four quarter-finals and was level at 24 frames at the start of the final day.[12] Rea won four of the six frames on the final afternoon but Pulman won five of the first six frames in the evening to win 31–29.[13]

Fred Davis and John Pulman played their semi-final in Bolton. Pulman led 20–16 after three days but Davis won 9 of the 12 frames on the fourth day to lead 25–23.[14] Davis won 7 of the 13 frames on the final day to win 32–29.[15]

Donaldson and Alec Brown played their semi-final in Leeds. At the end of the afternoon session on the second day, Brown led 10–5.[16] Donaldson then dominated and led 29–21 after day five, including a break of 108.[14] The final score was 36–25.[15]

Fred Davis and Walter Donaldson met in their eighth successive final. It was the most one-sided of the finals with Davis leading 33–15 after four days. Even before losing the match, Donaldson said that he would not enter the world championship again, saying he could not give enough time to the practice he felt was necessary.[17] Davis secured the victory by winning the first three frames on the fifth day to lead 36–15.[18] The final score was 45–26 with Donaldson making a break of 121 on the final day.[6]

Main draw

Sources:[2][19][20]

Quarter-finals
61 frames
Semi-finals
61 frames
Final
71 frames
Fred Davis 45
Harry Stokes 15 Fred Davis 32
John Pulman 31 John Pulman 29
Jackie Rea 29 Fred Davis 45
Walter Donaldson 36 Walter Donaldson 26
Kingsley Kennerley 25 Walter Donaldson 36
Alec Brown 35 Alec Brown 25
John Barrie 26

Qualifying

Harry Stokes and Rex Williams played a 31-frame qualifying match in Edinburgh, planned for 5 to 7 October 1953. Williams led 3–2 after the first session.[21] He was then ill and the match was abandoned, to be rearranged for a later date.[22] The match was, however, later cancelled and Stokes advanced to the next round.[23]

Round 1
31 frames
   
Harry Stokes w/o
Rex Williams w/d

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 9 February 2011.
  2. Hayton, Eric (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker. Lowestoft: Rose Villa Publications. p. 144. ISBN 0-9548549-0-X.
  3. "Davis retains snooker title". The Argus. 8 March 1954. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  4. "2004 Embassy World Championship Information". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 8 December 2004. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  5. "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 19 November 1953. p. 9.
  6. "Snooker and Billiards". The Glasgow Herald. 8 March 1954. p. 4.
  7. "Other Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 10 November 1953. p. 2.
  8. "Other Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 12 November 1953. p. 9.
  9. "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 13 November 1953. p. 5.
  10. "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 21 November 1953. p. 2.
  11. "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 5 December 1953. p. 10.
  12. "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 11 December 1953. p. 4.
  13. "World Championship". The Times. 12 December 1953. p. 4.
  14. "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 23 January 1954. p. 2.
  15. "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 25 January 1954. p. 9.
  16. "World Championship". The Times. 20 January 1954. p. 9.
  17. "Snooker and Billiards". The Glasgow Herald. 5 March 1954. p. 4.
  18. "F. Davis Retains World Snooker Championship". The Times. 6 March 1954. p. 4.
  19. "World Championship 1954". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  20. "Embassy World Championship". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  21. "World Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 6 October 1953. p. 2.
  22. "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 7 October 1953. p. 9.
  23. "Title match cancelled". The Glasgow Herald. 27 October 1953. p. 4.
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