| Tournament Name: | World Snooker Championship |
| Final Location: | yes |
| Venue: | Tower Circus |
| Location: | Blackpool |
| Country: | England |
| Organisation: | Billiards Association and Control Council |
| Highest Break: | (106) |
| Score: | 58–39 |
| Previous: | 1950 |
| Next: | 1952 |
The 1951 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament. The final was held at the Tower Circus in Blackpool, England.[1]
For the fifth consecutive year, the final was contested by Fred Davis and Walter Donaldson. Davis won his third World title by defeating Donaldson 58–39 in the final.[1] Donaldson made the highest break of the tournament with 106 in frame 32 of his semi-final match against Horace Lindrum.[2] [3]
After defeating the then 42-year-old Sidney Smith — runner-up in the 1938 and 1939 championships — in the quarter-finals, the 15-year younger John Pulman reached the semi-finals, where he played against the eventual winner Fred Davis, before he retired and gave Davis an early bye into the final.
The World Snooker Championship is a professional tournament and the official world championship of the game of snooker.[4] The sport was developed in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India.[5] Professional English billiards player and billiard hall manager Joe Davis noticed the increasing popularity of snooker compared to billiards in the 1920s, and with Birmingham-based billiards equipment manager Bill Camkin, persuaded the Billiards Association and Control Council (BACC) to recognise an official professional snooker championship in the 1926–27 season.[6] In 1927, the final of the first professional snooker championship was held at Camkin's Hall; Davis won the tournament by beating Tom Dennis in the final.[7] The annual competition was not titled the World Championship until the 1935 tournament,[8] [9] but the 1927 tournament is now referred to as the first World Snooker Championship.[10] [11] Davis had also won the title every year from 1928 to 1940, after which the tournament was not held again until 1946 due to World War II.[12] Walter Donaldson was the defending champion, having defeated Fred Davis 51–46 in the 1950 final.[1]
| Dates | Venue, city | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 October–4 November 1950 | [13] | |||
| Fred Davis v John Barrie | 13–18 November 1950 | |||
| 27 November–2 December 1950 | [14] | |||
| 11–16 December 1950 | ||||
| Fred Davis v John Pulman | 22–27 January 1951 | Burroughes Hall, London | ||
| Walter Donaldson v Horace Lindrum | 22–27 January 1951 | [15] | ||
| Fred Davis v Walter Donaldson | 16–17, 19–24 February 1951 | [16] |
Horace Lindrum established a 9-3 lead against Albert Brown on the first day of their match.[17] He extended hs lead to 18-6 on day two.[17] Brown took five of the six frames in the first on day three, and Lindrum took the following session by that same margin, to lead 24-12.[17] By winning nine of the 12 frames on day four, Lindrum needed only a further four frames, and confirmed his progress to the semi-finals at 36-15.[17] The final score after was 43-28.[17] Lindrum's highest of the match was 91; Brown's was 89.[17]
Fred Davis led John Barrie 12-6 but Barrie won the next two sessions 5-1 to narrow his deficit to two frames at 14-16.[17] Davis went on to win 36-28; after dead frames, the score was 42-29.[17] Davis's highest of the match was 77; Barrie's was 73.[17]
Pulman withdrew due to influenza when trailing 14–22 against Fred Davis.[18]
Donaldson secured a winning margin at 36-25 against Horace Lindrum.[19] The final score was 41-30.[20]
Walter Donaldson and Fred Davis played the final in Blackpool, over 97 frames, in front of record crowds for a World Snooker Championship match. From 6–6, Davis moved into a 12–6 lead, reaching a winning margin at 49–36 before the match concluded 58–39.[16] [21] [22] Davis was presented with the championship trophy by BACC chairman John Bissett.[23]
John Barrie met Sydney Lee at Burroughes Hall in London from 6 to 8 November. Barrie led 7–5 after the first day [27] and 15–9 after two days. He made a break of 101 on the second evening.[28] He eventually won 23–12.[29] Barrie then met Dickie Laws on the following three days also at Burroughes Hall. Barrie took an 8–4 lead,[30] increased to a winning 18–6 lead after two days.[31] The final score was 27–8.[32]