1971 World Snooker Championship

This was the first time the championship was held outside the United Kingdom. It would be hosted in Australia again in 1975.[2]

The initial stage was a round robin in which each competitor played a 3-day, 37-frame match against four of the other eight competitors.[1][5] It is the only time a round robin format has been used in the world championship.

The first match between Paddy Morgan and Warren Simpson was from 28 to 30 September[6] and was won by Morgan by a score of 21–16.[7] Eddie Charlton and Norman Squire met in the second match, during which Charlton made a break of 106, the first century of the championship.[8] The British players did not start their matches until 6 October when John Spencer, John Pulman and Gary Owen started their first matches.[9]

Ray Reardon started his first match on 9 October,[10] beating Perrie Mans.[8] Spencer made a break of 105 in his second win, over Norman Squire.[8] Reardon and Spencer played again from 12 to 14 October. Reardon beat Charlton while Spencer beat Pulman.[11] Charlton made a break of 116 while Pulman made one of 113 while Spencer a 102 break.[12][13] Simpson met Owen from 13 to 15 October. Owen led 17–14 and 18–17 but Simpson won the last two frames to win 18–17.[14]

Owen scored his first century in his match against Squire, a break of 102.[15] Owen and Charlton won their second matches and met over the following three daysl.[16] Reardon met Morgan in Brisbane and led 20–10 after the final afternoon session. The third win guaranteed his place in the semi-final where he would meet John Spencer.[17]

Charlton beat Owen to give him his third win and a place in the semi-final. Charlton made breaks of 129 and 124 on the final day.[3] Simpson then beat Perrie Mans 19–18 to gain the last semi-final place.

The first semi-final between Charlton and Simpson was played from 25 to 28 October at Forbes Golf Club. Simpson led 7–5 after the first day and maintained a 13–11 lead after the second day.[18] Simpson won the last 5 frames on the third day to lead 21–15.[19] Simpson clinched the match of the final day when he won the third frame of the evening session to lead 25–20. Dead frames were played with the final score being 27–22. The best break of the match was a 95 by Simpson.[20]

The second semi-final between Spencer and Reardon was played from 27 to 30 October at Parramatta Leagues Club, Sydney.[17] Spencer took a 9–3 lead on the first day.[19] Reardon made a 108 break during the evening session.[21] Spencer extended his lead to 19–5 after two days[20] and won the match 25–7 on the third evening. Spencer made a break of 106 on the third afternoon and Reardon made one of 109 in a dead frame on the third evening.[22] The match ended with Spencer leading 34–15. Reardon's defeat meant he held the record as the player with the shortest reign as world champion.[23]

The final was held from 2 to 7 November at the Chevron Hotel in Sydney.[22][24] Spencer won his second world title and earned £2,333.[25] Spencer led 8–4 after the first day[26] and 17–7 after the second day. He made a break of 105 on the second afternoon and then made breaks of 126 and 107 in the second and third frames of the evening session.[27] At the half-way stage Simpson had reduced Spencer's lead to 20–16[28] but Spencer led 29–19 after four days[29] and eventually won 37–29 on the final day.[30] Simpson reached the final at his first attempt.[2]

Match	Winner	Score	Runner up	Date	Venue	Ref.
1	Paddy Morgan	21–16	Warren Simpson	28–30 September	Kings Cross RSL Club, Sydney	[31][32]
2	Eddie Charlton	27–10	Norman Squire	2–4 October	Kurri Kurri RSL Club	[33]
3	John Spencer	20–17	Perrie Mans	6–8 October	Canterbury-Bankstown Leagues Club, Sydney	[34][35][36]
4	Warren Simpson	22–15	John Pulman	6–8 October	South Newcastle Leagues Club, Newcastle	[34][35][36]
5	Gary Owen	26–11	Paddy Morgan	6–8 October	Wentworthville RSL Club, Sydney	[34][35][36]
6	John Spencer	27–10	Norman Squire	9–11 October	Lithgow Workers' Club	[37][38]
7	Ray Reardon	21–16	Perrie Mans	9–11 October	Wingham RSL Club	[37][38]
8	John Spencer	23–14	John Pulman	12–14 October	Wagga Wagga RSL Club	[12][13]
9	Ray Reardon	21–16	Eddie Charlton	12–14 October	Wallsend RSL Club, Newcastle	[39][12][13]
10	Warren Simpson	19–18	Gary Owen	13–15 October	Dubbo Ex-Servicemen's Club	[12][13][40]
11	John Pulman	25–12	Paddy Morgan	15–17 October	Coogee-Randwick RSL Club, Sydney	[40][41][42]
12	Gary Owen	19–18	Norman Squire	17–19 October	Port Macquarie RSL Club	[41][42]
13	Eddie Charlton	26–11	Perrie Mans	17–19 October	Nambucca Heads RSL Club	[41][42][43]
14	Ray Reardon	27–10	Paddy Morgan	19–21 October	Queensland Masonic Club, Brisbane	[43][44][45]
15	Eddie Charlton	23–14	Gary Owen	20–22 October	City Tattersalls Club, Sydney	[44][4]
16	Warren Simpson	19–18	Perrie Mans	21–23 October	Griffith Ex-Servicemen's Club	[44][4]
17	John Pulman	26–11	Norman Squire	21–23 October	Parramatta RSL Club, Sydney	[44][4]
18	Ray Reardon	21–16	John Spencer	22–24 October	Lismore Workers' Club	[4][19]

Morgan missed the final session in his match against Reardon. Reardon had won the match and was leading 20–10.

Table

Pos	Player	Pld	MW	ML	FW	FL	FD	Pts
1	Ray Reardon	4	4	0	90	58	+32	8
2	Eddie Charlton	4	3	1	92	56	+36	6
3	John Spencer	4	3	1	86	62	+24	6
4	Warren Simpson	4	3	1	76	72	+4	6
5	John Pulman	4	2	2	80	68	+12	4
6	Gary Owen	4	2	2	77	71	+6	4
7	Paddy Morgan	4	1	3	54	94	−40	2
8	Perrie Mans	4	0	4	62	86	−24	0
9	Norman Squire	4	0	4	49	99	−50	0

The basis on which the semi-final draw was organised is not known. The 22 October edition of The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Reardon would play Spencer in the second semi-final. At the time Reardon and Spencer still had to play each other and Charlton, Owen and Simpson also had one match to play. So the final order of the group was still undecided.[17]

Sources:[1][5][46]

	Semi-finals 49 frames					Final Best of 73 frames
		Eddie Charlton	22
		Warren Simpson	27
							Warren Simpson	29
							John Spencer	37
		John Spencer	34
		Ray Reardon	15