| Tournament Name: | 1979 Castle Open |
| Dates: | December 1978–22 January 1979 |
| Venue: | Castle Snooker Club |
| Location: | Southampton |
| Country: | England |
| Organisation: | Bernard Bennett |
| Total Prize Fund: | £3,500 |
| Winners Share: | £750 |
| Score: | 5–1 |
The 1979 Castle Open was a pro-am snooker tournament held from late 1978 to January 1979 at the Castle Snooker Club. It was won by Alex Higgins, who defeated Fred Davis 5–1 in the final.[1]
The promoter, snooker professional Bernard Bennett, who owned the Castle Club, provided a prize fund of £3,500, including a first prize of £750. Almost all of the professional snooker players who were in the country at the time participated, alongside many of the leading amateurs.[2] All matches were played on level terms; no handicaps were applied.[2]
The tournament was played across two blocks.[2] The earlier rounds featured amateurs and lower-ranked professionals, with higher-ranked professionals joining in the second block,[2] held from 19 to 21 January 1979.[3] Only two amateurs progressed to the second block: 16-year-old Jimmy White and 19-year-old Tony Meo.[2] White defeated professionals Jack Karnehm and David Taylor, and Meo eliminated eight-time world champion John Pulman.[2] [4]
Terry Griffiths, who had turned professional that season,[5] later wrote that, "The matches were short and the prize money not all that much but because the proprietor, Bernard Bennett, is a professional who is well liked in the snooker world, there was a good turn-out of professionals to support his tournament."[6]
Fred Davis reached the final at the age of 65, having eliminated Willie Thorne and Cliff Thorburn during the tournament.[7] He won the first frame, but lost 1–5 to Alex Higgins.[8] [9] [10]
Results from the sixth round onwards are shown below.[11]
| width=270 | Player | width=60 | Score | width=270 | Player |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4–1 | |||||
| 4–3 | |||||
| 4–2 | |||||
| 4–2 | |||||
| 4–1 | |||||
| 4–3 | |||||
| 4–3 | |||||
| 4–2 | |||||
| 4–1 | |||||
| 4–0 | |||||
| 4–0 | |||||
| 4–1 | |||||
| 4–0 | |||||
| 4–1 |
| width=270 | Player | width=60 | Score | width=270 | Player |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4–1 | |||||
| 4–1 | |||||
| 4–2 | |||||
| 4–0 | |||||
| 4–3 | |||||
| 4–3 | |||||
| 4–0 | |||||
| 4–0 |
| width=270 | Player | width=60 | Score | width=270 | Player |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4–3 | |||||
| 4–1 | |||||
| 4–1 | |||||
| 4–1 | |||||
| 4–1 | |||||
| 4–1 | |||||
| width=270 | Player | width=60 | Score | width=270 | Player |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4–1 | |||||
| 4–1 | |||||
| 4–1 | |||||
| 4– 1 | |||||
| 4–3 | |||||
| 4–2 | |||||
| 4–2 | |||||
| 4–0 |
| width=270 | Player | width=60 | Score | width=270 | Player |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4–3 | |||||
| 4–3 | |||||
| 4–3 | |||||
| 4–1 | |||||
| 4–2 | |||||
| 4–0 | |||||
| 4–2 | |||||
| 4–3 |