1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament

Sunday Empire News Tournament
Tournament information
Dates 11 October–18 December 1948
Venue Leicester Square Hall
City London
Country United Kingdom
Format Non-Ranking event
Total prize fund £1000
Winner's share £450
Highest break England Fred Davis (139)
Final
Champion England Joe Davis
Runner-up England John Pulman

The 1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the Sunday Empire News newspaper. The tournament was won by Joe Davis with John Pulman finishing in second place. The tournament saw the re-introduction of the popular round-robin handicap format had been used for Daily Mail Gold Cup before World War II. Thurston's Hall, the home of the Daily Mail Gold Cup, had re-opened in late 1947, although renamed as the Leicester Square Hall. It was the only time the tournament was held although the format continued with the News of the World Snooker Tournament.

In the final match of the tournament Fred Davis, playing without a points handicap, beat brother Joe 36–35. This was the first time Joe had lost a competitive match when playing on level terms. However, under the "sealed handicap" aspect of the event, Joe received 2 frames and won the match 37–36.[1]

Format

The event was a round-robin snooker tournament and was played from 11 October to 18 December 1948. All matches were played at Leicester Square Hall in London. The competitors were Joe Davis, Fred Davis, Walter Donaldson, Sidney Smith and John Pulman. Each match lasted six days and was the best of 71 frames. There was a qualifying competition prior to the main event. This involved 5 players in a round-robin tournament with the winner, John Pulman, advancing to the main event.[2]

The event had two handicapping aspects. In each match a handicap could be given to one of the players, a given number of points start in each frame. In addition there was a sealed handicap for each match. This was an additional adjustment to be made after each match (a specific number of frames) which was kept secret until the end of the match.[2] For the points aspect of the handicapping, Joe Davis, Fred Davis and Walter Donaldson didn't give or receive points when they played each other but gave points to the other two players. Joe and Fred gave 7 points to Sidney Smith and 16 points to John Pulman. Donaldson gave 14 points to Pulman while Smith gave 10 points to Pulman.

Results

The final score in the Joe Davis/Smith match is not known. The score after 5 days was 42–18.[3] Joe Davis/Sidney Smith match final score was 49-25.[4] Fred Davis beat John Pulman 39–32 in their match, having won 8 of the 11 frames on the final day, but Pulman received 9 frames in the sealed handicap and won the match 41–39.[5] Pulman received 8 frames in the sealed handicap in his next match against Joe Davis but Joe, aware that a substantial handicap was likely to be given, had beaten Pulman 51–20.[6] Fred and Joe Davis met In the final match. Fred won all six frames on the third evening to lead 20–16. Fred still led 31–29 at the start of the final day and eventually won the match 36–35. When the sealed handicap was opened it revealed that Joe received 2 frames and that he had won 37–36.[1]

Joe Davis scored his 300th century break in the first match against Sidney Smith, making 119 on 14 October.[7] On 10 November Fred Davis in his match against John Pulman made a break of 139, just one short of the record of 140 made by Joe Davis on 9 February 1948. Fred had been unable to get on the black off the 14th red and had taken the pink instead.[8] On 15 December, during the final match, Fred Davis made a break of 138, winning the frame 138–0, and then, in the next frame made a break of 84, winning that frame 129–0.[9] Two days later Joe Davis almost beat his own record of 140. On 123, he missed the blue when a 141 break was possible.[10]

Winner Score Loser Dates
Joe Davis 49–25 Sidney Smith 11–16 October
John Pulman 44–33 Walter Donaldson 18–23 October
Fred Davis 40–35 Sidney Smith 25–30 October
Joe Davis 44–32 Walter Donaldson 1–6 November
John Pulman 41–39 Fred Davis 8–13 November
Walter Donaldson w/o–w/d Sidney Smith 15–20 November
Joe Davis 51–28 John Pulman 22–27 November
Fred Davis 40–34 Walter Donaldson 29 November–4 December
John Pulman 52–21 Sidney Smith 6–11 December
Joe Davis 37–36 Fred Davis 13–18 December

Frame totals includes frames received in the sealed handicap. Smith conceded his match against Donaldson before the start. He was suffering from tonsilitis.[11]

Table [1]

Pos Player Pld Pts Prize
1 England Joe Davis 4 8 £450
2 England John Pulman 4 6 £250
3 England Fred Davis 4 4 £150
4 Scotland Walter Donaldson 4 2 ?
5 England Sidney Smith 4 0 ?

John Pulman won an additional £150 for winning the qualifying competition.

Qualifying

The qualifying tournament was played from 30 August to 2 October 1948. These matches were also played at Leicester Square Hall in London but each match only lasted three days and was the best of 35 frames. 5 players competed with the winner advancing to the final stages, The 5 players were: John Barrie, Albert Brown, Kingsley Kennerley, Sydney Lee and John Pulman. Players received points handicaps and sealed frame handicaps in the same way as in the main event. John Pulman won the qualifying with 6 points from his 4 matches ahead of Kingsley Kennerley with 5 points. Sydney Lee needed to win the last match against Albert Brown but he lost 22–15.[12] Lee had beaten Pulman in the first match of the tournament. Lee received a 5 point lead in each frame but Pulman had won the match 18–17. Lee, however, had been given 2 frames in the sealed handicap to win 19–18.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "J Davis and Pulman in the money". Western Daily Press. 20 December 1948. Retrieved 26 December 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  2. 1 2 "Snooker – Professional tournament". The Times. 26 August 1948. p. 2.
  3. ↑ "Davis well ahead". Dundee Courier. 16 October 1948. Retrieved 26 December 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  4. ↑ The Billiard Player Nov 1948
  5. ↑ "Pulman defeats Fred Davis". Western Daily Press. 15 November 1948. Retrieved 27 December 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  6. ↑ "Joe Davis undefeated". Western Daily Press. 29 November 1948. Retrieved 27 December 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  7. ↑ "300th snooker break cost Davis £1". Western Daily Press. 15 October 1948. Retrieved 27 December 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  8. ↑ "300th snooker break cost Davis £1". Aberdeen Journal. 11 November 1948. Retrieved 27 December 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  9. ↑ "Fred Davis spoils his brother's record". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 16 December 1948. Retrieved 27 December 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  10. ↑ "Joe Davis missed record". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 18 December 1948. Retrieved 27 December 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  11. ↑ "Walk-over for Donaldson". Dundee Evening Telegraph. 15 November 1948. Retrieved 26 December 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  12. ↑ "Pulman wins £150". Western Daily Press. 4 October 1948. Retrieved 27 December 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  13. ↑ "Handicap beats Pulman". Western Daily Press. 2 September 1948. Retrieved 27 December 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
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