1975 World Snooker Championship

Snooker tournament held 1975

The 1975 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 9 April and 1 May 1975 at various venues in Australia. The event was the 1975 edition of the World Snooker Championship, first held in 1927. The tournament featured 27 participants, eight of whom were seeded and received byes to the second round. The event featured a prize fund of A$30,000 with the winner receiving A$7,500. This was the second (and most recent) World Snooker Championship to be held outside of the United Kingdom after 1969, when the World Championship reverted to a knockout format. The tournament was promoted by Eddie Charlton Promotions on behalf of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. The final was held at the Nunawading Basketball Centre on Burwood Highway, in Burwood East, Victoria. Defending champion Ray Reardon played Eddie Charlton in a best of 61 match. Reardon won 10 of the 12 frames on the second day to lead 16–8 but Charlton took the first nine frames on day three and moved into the lead. Reardon then led 23–21 before Charlton won eight frames in a row to lead 29–23, requiring just two of the last nine frames to win. However Reardon then took seven frames in a row and, although Charlton levelled the match at 30–30, Reardon won the deciding frame to secure a 31–30 victory. It was the third consecutive year that Reardon won the title, and his fourth overall. Dennis Taylor made the highest of the tournament, 128, in his quarter final match against Gary Owen.

The World Snooker Championship is the preeminent tournament in professional snooker. Joe Davis won the first edition, in 1927 at Camkin's Hall in Birmingham, England. Ray Reardon was the defending champion in 1975, having defeated Graham Miles 22–12 in the 1974 final. The championship was held from 9 April to 1 May 1975 at multiple locations across Australia. This was the second time since 1969 that the championship was held outside the United Kingdom, after 1971. Charlton was a leading player, and the losing finalist in the 1973 World Snooker Championship. Snooker historian Clive Everton later wrote that "Some sports might have found it odd that a world championship should be promoted by one of its leading contenders but professional snooker, ever since the days of Joe Davis, was used to the idea of a player or clique of players having control of either promotion or administration, or both." The event featured 27 participants, with a preliminary round, and eight seeded players who were awarded byes to the second round. The number of frames increased during the tournament, with the opening rounds being the best of 29, the quarter finals and semi finals best of 37 and the final a best of 61 frames match. There was controversy about the seedings. John Spencer was seeded 8 which meant that he met top seed Reardon in the quarter finals; the pair were regarded as the two leading players. 1972 champion Alex Higgins was also in the top half of the draw, while promoter Eddie Charlton was in the bottom half. Several years later, in his autobiography, Reardon called the seedings for the tournament "a farce". Journalist and author John Dee referred to "shady goings on perhaps by the draw committee who seemed to be doing their utmost to bring the title to Australia." Reardon arrived in Australia on 3 March for to play a series of 23 exhibition matches against Charlton ahead of the tournament. This was the only year that Rex King, Ron Mares and Phil Tarrant ever participated in the main Championship. Jim Charlton and Lou Condo also made their world championship debuts. Lou Condo led Maurice Parkin 13–8 going into their final session; he won the first two frames of the concluding session to complete a 15–8 victory. and eventually won 15–11, after which Simpson won the three dead frames. Williams led Anderson 9–3,

Owen defeated Dunning 19–10, having secured his passage to the next round at 15 8. Charlton established an advantage in the fourth session, and ended it 13–11 up. Thorburn, writing in 1987, remarked that he had never faced anyone who played as well as Charlton had during that session.