Watney Open
Watney Open 1974
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Tournament type: | Non-ranking tournament |
Attendees: | at least 28 |
Venue: | Northern Snooker Center , Leeds |
Opening: | 7th September 1974 |
Endgame: | 22nd December 1974
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Winner: | Alex Higgins |
Finalist: | Fred Davis |
Highest Break: | 135 ( Alex Higgins ) |
The Watney Open 1974 were a professional snooker tournament during the 1974/75 season without affecting the world rankings ( non-ranking tournament ). The only edition of the tournament was held from September 7th to December 22nd, 1974 at the Northern Snooker Center in the English city of Leeds . The winner was the Northern Irishman Alex Higgins , who defeated old master Fred Davis 17:11 in the final. Higgins also played the highest break of the tournament with a 135 break.
Prize money
The tournament was named after the Watneys company sponsored. The total prize money was £ 2,785, of which roughly a third of £ 1,000 went to the winner.
Prize money | |
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winner | £ 1,000 |
finalist | 600 pounds |
Semi-finalist | 300 pounds |
Quarter finalist | 125 pounds |
Round of 16 | 30 pounds |
All in all | £ 2,785 |
Tournament course
At least 28 players took part in the tournament, the majority of whom were amateur players. These played a qualification before the main round. The main round started with the round of 16, from which the winner was determined in the knockout system . Up to and including the semi-finals , the game was played in the best of 25 frames mode ; the final would have lasted a maximum of 33 frames.
Round of 16 best of 25 frames |
Quarterfinals Best of 25 Frames |
Semi-final best of 25 frames |
Final Best of 33 frames |
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Alex Higgins | 13 | |||||||||||||
Ron Barnes | 4th | |||||||||||||
Alex Higgins | 13 | |||||||||||||
Rex Williams | 4th | |||||||||||||
Rex Williams | 13 | |||||||||||||
Sid Hood | 3 | |||||||||||||
Alex Higgins | 13 | |||||||||||||
Ray Reardon | 11 | |||||||||||||
Ray Reardon | 13 | |||||||||||||
David Taylor | 8th | |||||||||||||
Ray Reardon | ? | |||||||||||||
Dennis Taylor | ? | |||||||||||||
Dennis Taylor | kl. | |||||||||||||
Marcus Owen | - | |||||||||||||
Alex Higgins | 17th | |||||||||||||
Fred Davis | 11 | |||||||||||||
Fred Davis | 13 | |||||||||||||
Dave Thomas | 5 | |||||||||||||
Fred Davis | 13 | |||||||||||||
Patsy Fagan | 9 | |||||||||||||
Patsy Fagan | 13 | |||||||||||||
John Pulman | 5 | |||||||||||||
Fred Davis | 13 | |||||||||||||
John Spencer | 12 | |||||||||||||
John Spencer | 13 | |||||||||||||
Paul Medati | 5 | |||||||||||||
John Spencer | 13 | |||||||||||||
Graham Miles | 8th | |||||||||||||
Graham Miles | 13 | |||||||||||||
Ray Kell | 6th |
final
The Northern Irishman Alex Higgins has belonged to the world's top snooker since his triumph at the snooker world championship in 1972 , in which with Ray Reardon and John Spencer also the other two leading players of that time and for example with Fred Davis and John Pulman also some players with world championship titles played along in the past decades. Higgins had reached the semi-finals here without any major problems and narrowly defeated Ray Reardon with 13:11. In the final he met old master Fred Davis, himself eight-time world champion and brother of the snooker pioneer and fifteen-time world champion Joe . Davis, who was still playing at a good level despite his old age, had a more rocky road to the final, on which he and Patsy Fagan in the quarterfinals had beaten John Spencer 13:12 in the semifinals.
Davis had the better start to the game and took a 2-0 lead, but Higgins then started his winning streak and led 6-2 shortly afterwards. But now it was Davis who gained the upper hand and equalized to 6: 6 and a short time later to 7: 7. But Higgins then continued his winning streak and took the lead with 11: 7, 12: 8 and 16: 9. Davis could no longer catch up with this lead; he managed to win two frames before he could no longer prevent Higgins' victory in the 18th frame at 17:11.
Final: Best of 33 Frames Northern Snooker Center , Leeds , England , December 1974 |
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Alex Higgins | 17 : 11 | Fred Davis |
36: 37 , 60: 72 (H. 60), 103 : 27 (52), 70 : 43, 75 : 26, 68 : 39, 53 : 49, 110 : 21, 35: 74 , 39: 65 , 24: 51 , 41: 58 , 94 : 9 (66), 7: 71 , 67 : 27, 71 : 0 (71), 60 : 57, 75 : 40, 42: 52 , 75 : 47, 12: 79 (51) , 102 : 31, 79 : 15, 75 : 27, 82 : 35, 27: 99 (90), 51: 63 , 83 : 13 (51) |
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71 | Highest break | 90 |
- | Century breaks | - |
5 | 50+ breaks | 2 |
qualification
In the qualification, the results of which are in all probability incomplete, primarily the participating amateurs, but also several professional players took part. In eight qualifying rounds, the participants played those participants who should be eligible to start the main round. As already written, the results presented here, which are referenced via the CueTracker database, are probably not complete, as, for example, some players do not appear in the third qualifying round after winning the second.
First qualifying round
game | Player 1 | Result | Player 2 |
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1 | Paul Medati | 4 : 3 | James A. Heaton |
Second qualifying round
game | Player 1 | Result | Player 2 |
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1 | Kingsley Kennerley | 5 : 2 | Stan Brooko |
2 | Sid Hood | 5 : 2 | John Smith |
3 | Roy Hirst | 5 : 4 | John Barrie |
4th | Jack Fitzmaurice | 5 : 4 | Bernard Bennett |
5 | John Dunning | 5 : 1 | Danny Lonehan |
6th | Ron Barnes | 5 : 4 | Brian Cakebread |
Third qualifying round
game | Player 1 | Result | Player 2 |
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1 | Paul Medati | 5 : 4 | Roy Hirst |
2 | Ray Kell | 5 : 4 | Ray Edmonds |
3 | Sid Hood | 5 : 3 | John Dunning |
4th | Patsy Fagan | 5 : 3 | David Greaves |
5 | Ron Barnes | 5 : 1 | Jackie Rea |
Century Breaks
During the tournament four players played a total of ten Century Breaks :
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Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Ron Florax: 1974 Watney Open. CueTracker.net, accessed June 11, 2020 .
- ^ Chris Turner: Other Non-Ranking and Invition Events - First held before 1980 *. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive, 2011, archived from the original on February 16, 2012 ; accessed on June 11, 2020 (English).
- ↑ a b Ron Florax: 1974 Watney Open - Finishes. CueTracker.net, accessed June 11, 2020 .