| Tournament Name: | 1972 Men of the Midlands |
| Venue: | various |
| Country: | England |
| Format: | Non-ranking event |
| Total Prize Fund: | £1,000 |
| Winners Share: | £300 |
| Score: | 4–2 |
| Previous: | First |
| Next: | 1973 |
The 1972 Men of the Midlands was a professional invitational snooker tournament, that took place from 3 January[1] to 20 March 1972. The tournament was won by Alex Higgins, who defeated John Spencer 4–2 in the final.
The competition featured a round-robin group stage, with four players progressing into the semi-finals.[2] Higgins won 4–0 against Ray Reardon in one semi final,[3] and Spencer defeated Graham Miles 4–0 in the other.[4]
Higgins won the first frame of the final, after Spencer missed an easy, and Spencer won the second frame. In the third, Higgins made of 37 and 28 to win. The fourth frame saw both players miss changes to win, with Higgins eventually taking it with a break of 48. Spencer compiled a 58 break in winning the fifth frame, before Higgins won the sixth, with breaks of 24, 20 and 27, to win the match 4–2.[5]
The tournament was sponsored by Mitchells and Butlers, who provided a prize fund of £1,000. Higgins received £300 as winner, and Spencer took £225 as runner-up.
The players were divided into two groups, each of four players.[6]
| Date | width=270 | Player | width=60 | Score | width=270 | Player | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 January | 4–1 | Austin British Legion | [7] | |||||
| 10 January | 4–3 | [8] | ||||||
| 17 January | 4–2 | Redditch Liberal Club | ||||||
| 20 January | 4–0 | Standard Triumph Club, Coventry | ||||||
| 24 January | 4–2 | |||||||
| 25 January | 4–3 | Wilenhall Social, Coventry | ||||||
| 31 January | 4–1 | Hinckley Liberal Club | [9] | |||||
| 1 February | Whitmore Reans Conservative Club, Wolverhampton | [10] | ||||||
| 3 February | w.o. | Stewarts and Lloyds Club, Corby | [11] | |||||
| 7 February | 4–1 | |||||||
| 9 February | 4–1 | Quarry Bank Labour Club | ||||||
| 14 February | 4–0 | Lower Gornal Miners' Welfare | ||||||
Playoff
Due to "confusion over dates", Pulman was unable to play his scheduled matches against Miles and Rea. They faced each other in two playoff matches, which Miles won to progress to the semi-finals.[9]
| Date | width=270 | Player | width=60 | Score | width=270 | Player | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| unknown | 4–1 | Whitmore Reans Conservative Club, Wolverhampton | ||||||
| unknown | 4–3 | British Steel, Corby | ||||||
The match between Spencer and Miles was staged at Longbridge Social Club, and Higgins played Reardon at British Steel, Halesowen. The final was at Smethwick Working Men's Club.[12]