1973 Pot Black

1973 Pot Black
Tournament information
DatesRecorded 29 December 1972 – 1 January 1973 (broadcast 13 February – 29 May 1973 (1973-02-13 – 1973-05-29))
VenuePebble Mill Studios
CityBirmingham
CountryEngland
FormatNon-ranking event
Winner's share£1000
Highest breakAustralia Eddie Charlton (110)
Final
ChampionAustralia Eddie Charlton
Runner-upEngland Rex Williams
Score93–33
← 1972
1974 →

The 1973 Pot Black was a professional invitational snooker tournament, which was broadcast in 1973. The tournament was held in the Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingham, and featured eight professional players. All matches were one-frame shoot-outs.

Broadcasts were on BBC2 and started at 21:00 on Tuesday 13 February 1973[1] The tournament this year was reverted to 8 players. The three ex-winners were in a Pot Black Champions group while the remaining five players were in a League of Champions group. The top two from each group qualified for the semi-finals. Alan Weeks presented the programme with Ted Lowe as commentator and Sydney Lee as referee.

The tournament featured the TV debut of Alex Higgins who beat John Pulman in the first match of the series. Eddie Charlton retained the Pot Black title beating Rex Williams 93–33 shown on 29 May [2] and also made the first century break making 110 against John Spencer[3] which remained a record until 2005.[4]

The winner's trophy was presented by Percy Thrower.[5]

Main draw

League of Champions Group

Player 1 Score Player 2 Broadcast Date
Northern Ireland Alex Higgins 1–0 England John Pulman 13 February 1973
England Rex Williams 1–0 Northern Ireland Jackie Rea 20 February 1973
England Fred Davis 0–1 England John Pulman 6 March 1973
Northern Ireland Alex Higgins 0–1 England Rex Williams 13 March 1973
England Fred Davis 1–0 Northern Ireland Jackie Rea 27 March 1973
England John Pulman 1–0 England Rex Williams 3 April 1973
Northern Ireland Alex Higgins 0–1 Northern Ireland Jackie Rea 10 April 1973
England Fred Davis 1–0 England Rex Williams 24 April 1973
Northern Ireland Jackie Rea 1–0 England John Pulman 1 May 1973
Northern Ireland Alex Higgins 0–1 England Fred Davis 8 May 1973

Pot Black Champions Group

Player 1 Score Player 2 Broadcast Date
England John Spencer 0–1 Wales Ray Reardon 27 February 1973
England John Spencer 0–1 Australia Eddie Charlton 20 March 1973
Australia Eddie Charlton 1–0 Wales Ray Reardon 17 April 1973

Knockout stage

Semi-finals (15 and 22 May 1973) Final (29 May 1973)
England Rex Williams 1
England Fred Davis 0 England Rex Williams 0
Wales Ray Reardon 0 Australia Eddie Charlton 1
Australia Eddie Charlton 1

References

  1. ^ "BBC Television – 13 February 1973 – Pot Black". BBC Genome Project. BBC. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  2. ^ "BBC Television – 29 May 1973 – Pot Black: BBC2 Knockout Snooker Competition". BBC Genome Project. BBC. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  3. ^ "BBC Television – 20 March 1973 – Pot Black: BBC2 Knockout Snooker Competition". BBC Genome Project. BBC. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  4. ^ "CueTracker - 1973 Pot Black - Snooker Results & Statistics Database".
  5. ^ Clements, Derek (25 May 2003). "Caught in time - Pot Black, BBC2, 1973". The Sunday Times. p. S.26.