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{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox individual snooker tournament
|tournament_name=1972 [[World Snooker Championship]]
|logo=
|dates= March 1971 – 26 February 1972
|final_location = yes
|venue=[[Selly Park#Sporting history|Selly Park British Legion]]
|location=[[Birmingham]]
|country=England
|organisation=[[World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association|WPBSA]]
|Total prize fund=
|winners_share=£480
|highest_break={{flagathlete|[[Alex Higgins]]|NIR}} (133)
|winner={{flagathlete|[[Alex Higgins]]|NIR}}
|runner_up={{flagathlete|[[John Spencer (snooker player)|John Spencer]]|ENG}}
|score=37–31
|previous=[[1971 World Snooker Championship|1971]]
|next=[[1973 World Snooker Championship|1973]]
}}
The '''1972 World Snooker Championship''' was a professional [[snooker]] tournament that took place between March 1971 and 26 February 1972, as an edition of the [[World Snooker Championship]]. The final was played at [[Selly Park#Sporting history|Selly Park British Legion]] from 21 to 26 February. [[Alex Higgins]] won his first world title, defeating defending champion [[John Spencer (snooker player)|John Spencer]] 37–31 in the final. Higgins also made the highest known {{cuegloss|break}} of the tournament, 133. In all, he won six matches to secure the title, including a 31–30 {{cuegloss|deciding frame}} victory over [[Rex Williams]] in the semi-final after Williams had missed an attempt to {{cuegloss|pot}} a {{cuegloss|blue ball}}. Higgins became the first qualifier to win the World Championship, and, aged 22, the youngest champion until [[Stephen Hendry]] in [[1990 World Snooker Championship|1990]]. Higgins's win led to increased interest in snooker from the media and sponsors. 

The tournament ran from March 1971 to February 1972, with matches at various venues. Spectators at the final were seated on wooden boards placed atop beer barrels. On the first evening of the final, the {{cuegloss|session}} was conducted with reduced light provided by a [[Engine-generator|mobile generator]], as the normal power supply was interrupted due to the [[UK miners' strike (1972)|miners' strike]].

==Background==
The [[World Snooker Championship]] is a professional tournament and the official [[world championship]] of the game of [[snooker]].<ref name="YPLI35">{{cite news |title=Snooker championship |work=Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer |date=11 May 1927 |access-date=12 March 2019 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000687/19270511/425/0020 |page=20 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The sport was developed in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India.<ref name="CUESPORT">{{cite book |last1=Hayton |first1=Eric |last2=Dee |first2=John |date=2004 |title=The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History |publisher=Rose Villa Publications |isbn=978-0-9548549-0-4 }}</ref>{{rp|1}} 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.<ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB |last=Everton |first=Clive |date=23 September 2004 |title=Davis, Joseph [Joe] |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-31013 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/31013 |access-date=11 May 2020 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903050418/https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-31013 |archive-date=3 September 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1927, the final of the [[1927 World Snooker Championship|first professional snooker championship]] was held at Camkin's Hall; Davis won the tournament by beating [[Tom Dennis (snooker player)|Tom Dennis]] in the final.<ref name="HAMLYN">{{cite book |last=Morrison |first=Ian |date=1987 |title=The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker |publisher=[[Hamlyn (publishers)|Hamlyn Publishing Group]] |location=London |isbn=978-0-600-55604-6 |pages=27–30}}</ref> The annual competition was not titled the World Championship until [[1935 World Snooker Championship|1935]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Billiards – Professional title |work=Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer |date=3 November 1934 |accessdate=24 November 2015 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000687/19341103/342/0007 |page=7 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |url-access=subscription}}</ref> but the 1927 tournament is now referred to as the first World Snooker Championship.<ref name="EVERTONEMB">{{cite book |last=Everton |first=Clive |date=1993 |title=The Embassy Book of World Snooker |publisher=Bloomsbury |location=London |isbn=978-0-7475-1610-1 |pages=11–13}}</ref><ref name="WPBSAH">{{cite web |title=History of snooker – a timeline |url=https://wpbsa.com/about-us/history/ |publisher=[[World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association]] |access-date=29 May 2021 |archive-date=7 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107025119/https://wpbsa.com/about-us/history/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:John Spencer (1971) (cropped).png|thumb|upright=0.85|alt=John Spencer at a snooker table|The defending champion was [[John Spencer (snooker player)|John Spencer]] ''(pictured in 1971)''.]]
In 1952, following a dispute between the Professional Billiards Players' Association (PBPA) and the BACC about the distribution of income from the world championship, the PBPA members established an alternative competition known as the [[World Professional Match-play Championship]], the editions of which are now recognised as world championships, while only [[Horace Lindrum]] and [[Clark McConachy]] entered for the BACC's [[1952 World Snooker Championship]].<ref name="BAIZE">{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Luke |last2=Gadsby |first2=Paul |date=2005 |title=Masters of the Baize |location=Edinburgh |publisher=Mainstream |isbn=978-1-84018-872-1 }}</ref>{{rp|47}}<ref name="CTWORLD">{{cite web |last=Turner |first=Chris |title=World Professional Championship |url=http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/world.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130416080933/http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/world.html |archivedate=16 April 2013 |work=cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk |publisher=Chris Turner's Snooker Archive |accessdate=9 February 2011}}</ref> The World Professional Match-play Championship continued until 1957, after which there were no world championship matches until professional [[Rex Williams]] gained agreement from the BACC that the world championship would be staged on a challenge basis, with defending champion Pulman featuring in the first match.<ref name="CTWORLD" /><ref name="FACTS">{{cite book |last=Morrison |first=Ian |date=1989 |title=Snooker: records, facts and champions |publisher=Guinness Superlatives Ltd |isbn=978-0-85112-364-6 |page=8}}</ref><ref name="91HALE">{{cite book |last=Hale |first=Janice |date=1991 |title=Rothmans Snooker Yearbook 1991–92 |location=Aylesbury |publisher=Queen Anne Press |isbn=978-0-356-19747-0 |pages=294–295}}</ref> Pulman retained the title in several challenges from [[1964–68 World Snooker Championships|1964 to 1968]].<ref name="CTWORLD" /> Pulman had been touring snooker clubs as promotional work for the tobacco brand [[John Player]], and the company had sponsored his 1968 match against [[Eddie Charlton]]. The good attendances for the championship match led to John Player deciding to sponsor the 1969 World Snooker Championship as a [[Single-elimination tournament|knock-out format]] tournament,<ref name="FARCE">{{cite book |last=Everton |first=Clive |date=2012 |title=Black farce and cue ball wizards |publisher=Mainstream |location=Edinburgh |isbn=978-1-78057-568-1 }}</ref>{{rp|42}} using their "Players No. 6" brand.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Players No. 6 sponsor world championship |magazine=Billiards and Snooker |publisher=[[Billiards Association and Control Council]] |date=November 1968 |page=13}}</ref> The 1969 championship is regarded as the first of the modern snooker era, and was won by [[John Spencer (snooker player)|John Spencer]], who defeated [[Gary Owen (snooker player)|Gary Owen]] 37–24 in the final.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=John Higgins eyes more crucible titles |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/snooker/5276218/John-Higgins-eyes-more-Crucible-titles.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=5 May 2009 |access-date=13 April 2020 |url-access=registration |quote="the modern era, which began in 1969 when the World Championship became a knockout event." |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430020307/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/snooker/5276218/John-Higgins-eyes-more-Crucible-titles.html |archive-date=30 April 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Pitt |first=Nick |title=Snooker: Pocket man O'Sullivan eager to chalk up another title: The champion is in irresistible form as he starts his defence at the Crucible |work=The Sunday Times |date=20 April 2014 |page=13 |quote="in the modern era since 1969"}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hayton |first1=Eric |last2=Dee |first2=John |date=2004 |title=The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History |publisher=Rose Villa Publications |location=Lowestoft |isbn=978-0-9548549-0-4 |page=7 |quote="the world championship ... took on the modern day look during the 1968–69 season"}}</ref><ref name="CUESPORT" />{{rp|8}}

The 1972 championship was organised by the [[World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association]], which was the renamed PBPA. The draw for players entering the competition was made in February 1971. There was an entry fee of £100 per player, with the intention that the winner would receive 60% of the combined entry fees, and the runner-up 40%, with gate receipts after expenses also going to players.<ref name="EMB" /> There was no sponsor for the tournament,<ref name="FARCE" />{{rp|47}} and the prize money was by arrangement with individual promoters;<ref name=cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk>{{cite web|last=Turner|first=Chris|title=World Professional Championship|url=http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/world.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130416080933/http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/world.html|archivedate=16 April 2013|work=cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk|publisher=Chris Turner's Snooker Archive|accessdate=11 May 2012}}</ref> The defending champion was Spencer, who had won the [[1971 World Snooker Championship]] (which was actually held in 1970) in Australia.<ref>{{cite news| title=Spencer is snooker champion |work=Belfast Telegraph |date=7 November 1970 |page=14}}</ref> The tournament ran from March 1971 to February 1972.<ref name="GBS">{{cite book |last=Everton |first=Clive |date=1981 |title=The Guinness Book of Snooker |publisher=Guinness Superlatives Ltd |location=Enfield |isbn=978-0-85112-230-4 |page=90}}</ref>

==Tournament summary==
===Qualifying and first round===
The qualifying competition contained eight players of which two qualifiers joined other entrants in the competition proper. Those in the qualifying section included [[Alex Higgins]], and four former [[English Amateur Championship|amateur champions]], [[Ron Gross]], [[Maurice Parkin]], [[Pat Houlihan]] and [[Geoff Thompson (snooker player)|Geoff Thompson]].<ref name="GBS"/> In the first qualifying round, over 21 frames, two matches were played at the Brentham Club, [[Ealing]].<ref name="EMB">{{cite book |last=Everton |first=Clive |date=1993 |title=The Embassy Book of World Snooker |publisher=Bloomsbury |location=London |isbn=978-0-7475-1610-1 |pages=31–35}}</ref><ref name="JDPH" /> [[John Dunning (snooker player)|John Dunning]] led Houlihan 9-5 but won only by a single frame, 11-10.<ref name="JDPH">{{cite magazine |last=Haseldine |first=Norman |title=John Dunning 11 – Pat Houlihan 10 |magazine=World Snooker |date=April 1971 |page=5 }}</ref> Higgins compiled a 103 break in the seventh frame against Gross, and reached a winning score at 11–4. It ended 16–5 after {{cuegloss|dead frames}}.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Haseldine |first=Norman |title=Alex Higgins 16 – Ronald Gross 5 |magazine=World Snooker |date=April 1971 |page=6 }}</ref> [[Graham Miles]] eliminated [[Bernard Bennett]] at the Castle Club, [[Southampton]], and made a 115 break in the 21st frame, making it 15–6. Parkin won in a {{cuegloss|deciding frame}} against Thompson at [[Barnsley]] Conservative Club.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Miles and Parkin come through |magazine=World Snooker |date=May 1971 |page=5 }}</ref>

In the second qualifying round, playing at [[Ecclesfield]] Ex-Servicemen's Club, [[Sheffield]], Higgins took ten consecutive frames while defeating Parkin 11–3.<ref>{{cite news |title=Higgins wins – now for Jack Rea |newspaper=Belfast Telegraph |date=9 September 1971 |page=9}}</ref><ref name="AHMP"/> Dunning eliminated Miles 11–5 at the [[Selly Park#Sporting history|Selly Park British Legion]].<ref name="AHMP">{{cite magazine |title=Alex Higgins 11 – Maurice Parkin 3; John Dunning 11 – Graham Miles 5 |magazine=World Snooker |date=October 1971 |page=2 }}</ref>

There were two matches played in the first round of the main competition. Higgins eliminated [[Jackie Rea]] 19–11 at the Ecclesfield Ex-Servicemen's Club. He compiled a 103 break in the third session and a 133 during the fourth session.<ref name="WPSC">{{cite magazine |title=World professional snooker championship|magazine=World Snooker |date=December 1971 |page=1 }}</ref> Rea complimented Higgins on the performance, saying that "He does everything wrong. And yet he knocks such a lot in".<ref name="BAIZE" />{{rp|84}} [[John Pulman]] took a 6–2 lead against Dunning, and went on to win 19–7.<ref name="WPSC" /> [[Fred Davis (snooker player)|Fred Davis]] was due to play [[Kingsley Kennerley]], but proceeded by [[walkover]] when Kennerley withdrew due to illness.<ref name="AHMP" />

===Quarter-finals and semi-finals===
Spencer eliminated Davis 31–21.<ref name="WPSC" /> Williams defeated the [[1970 World Snooker Championship|1970 champion]] Reardon 25–23 in a match held across five different venues in Scotland.<ref name="EMB" /> Reardon trailed 20–22 before winning the following three frames, after which Williams won three frames in succession to secure victory.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Rex Williams 25 Ray Reardon 23|magazine=World Snooker |date=December 1971 |page=2 }}</ref> Owen was expected to face Taylor, but withdrew after emigrating to Australia. His place in the draw was given to Charlton by the WPBSA.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Charlton in for Owen |magazine=World Snooker |date=June 1971 |page=5 }}</ref> Charlton, who arrived from Australia on the first morning of his match against Taylor, won 31–25.<ref name="EMB" /><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Eddie Charlton 31, David Taylor 25 |magazine=World Snooker |date=January 1972 |page=7}}</ref> Pulman took a 2–0 lead against Higgins, but was 2–3 behind before finishing their first day the odd frame ahead at 4–3. Higgins led 12–8 after the second day, and 19–14 at the close of day three. The penultimate day ended with Higgins 28–19 up, and although Pulman won the first two frames on the concluding day, Higgins secured victory at 31–23.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Alex Higgins 31, John Pulman 23 |magazine=World Snooker |date=January 1972 |page=6}}</ref>

Spencer had embarked on a tour of Canada between the quarter-finals and semi-finals. He won 37–32 against Charlton,<ref name="EMB" /> in the semi-final played at the Co-op Hall, [[Bolton]], from 10 to 14 January.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Where it's at |magazine=World Snooker |date=January 1972 |page=5}}</ref> The players agreed on a £750 side bet to be paid by the losing player to the winner.<ref name="HSB">{{cite book|last=Everton |first=Clive |date=1986 |title=The History of Snooker and Billiards|publisher=Partridge Press |location=Haywards Heath |isbn=978-1-85225-013-3 |page=97}}</ref>

Williams took nine consecutive frames to establish a 12–6 lead against Higgins. Higgins next took the lead at 26–25. The match went to a deciding frame, and Williams was 28 points to 14 ahead when he missed an attempt to pot a blue ball from its spot into a middle pocket. Higgins compiled a break of 32, and then, following some safety play, potted the green ball to clinch victory.<ref name="EMB" /> Williams later commented "That blue could have changed the direction of both our careers."<ref name="BAIZE" />{{rp|84}}

On the day before the start of the Championship final, Spencer and Higgins contested the final of the [[Park Drive 2000#1972 (Spring)|Spring Park Drive 2000]] event, which Spencer won 4–3.<ref name="EMB" />

===Final===
[[File:Alexhiggins1968 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|alt=Alex Higgins holding a cue and smiling|[[Alex Higgins]] ''(pictured in 1968)'' won the title.]]
The final was played at the Selly Park British Legion, Birmingham,<ref name="EMB" /> from 21 to 26 February,<ref name=cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/> refereed by Jim Thorpe.<ref name="TOPPLE" /> Historian [[Dominic Sandbrook]] wrote in 2019 that the tournament had been "organized in conditions of laughable amateurishness" and that the final was played under "risibly ramshackle conditions".<ref name="SANDBROOK">{{cite book |last=Sandbrook |first=Dominic| title=Who Dares Wins: Britain, 1979–1982 | year=2019 | publisher=Allen Lane |location=London | isbn=978-1-846-14737-1 |page=394 }}</ref> Spectators at the final were seated on wooden boards placed atop beer barrels.<ref name="BAIZE" />{{rp|84}} There was a [[UK miners' strike (1972)|miners' strike]] in progress at the same time as the final, and on the first evening of play, without normal power, the session was conducted with reduced light provided by a [[Engine-generator|mobile generator]].<ref name="TOPPLE" />

Before the match started, Spencer was generally expected to win.<ref name="HSB"/> The first session finished with the players tied at 3–3. In the eighth frame, Higgins made a break of 35, but Spencer then compiled a 101 break to take the frame. The first day ended with the score 6–6.<ref>{{cite news |last=Everton |first=Clive |title=Spencer 13–11 ahead in snooker final |work=The Birmingham Post |date=23 February 1972 |page=22}}</ref><ref name="TOPPLE">{{cite magazine |last=Everton |first=Clive |title=How Alexander the great toppled king John |magazine=Snooker Scene |date=April 1972 |pages=4–8}}</ref> Spencer made his second century break of the match, 109, in the 16th frame, and the third session concluded with the players again level, at 9–9,<ref name="BAIZE" />{{rp|85}}<ref name="TOPPLE" /> while the fourth session saw Spencer go 13–11 ahead.<ref name="TOPPLE" /> Day three closed with the score 18–18 at the half-way point of the match,<ref name="TOPPLE" /> and the players were still tied, now at 21–21, following the next session.<ref name="BAIZE" />{{rp|85}} Higgins then won six consecutive frames to make it 27–21.<ref name="BAIZE" />{{rp|85}} On day five, Spencer was stuck in a [[Elevator|lift]] due to a power cut, and the match started ten minutes late. Higgins took the first frame of the ninth session, but lost four of the next five, leaving him 29–25 ahead.<ref name="TOPPLE" /> Both players won three frames in the tenth session.<ref name="TOPPLE" /> On the last day, Higgins clinched the 61st frame with a break of 40. Spencer then produced his third century break of the match, 123, in the 62nd frame, and added the next two frames to his tally with breaks over 50 in each.<ref name="TOPPLE" /> Higgins made a break of 82 in the 66th frame, which left him leading at 35–31.<ref name="BP28F">{{cite news |last=Everton |first=Clive |title=Spencer-Higgins lands title at first attempt |work=Birmingham Daily Post |date=28 February 1972 |page=18}}</ref> He took the opening frame of the concluding session by 62 points to 38,<ref name="BP28F" /> then compiled breaks of 94 and 46 to win the last frame he needed by 140 points to 0 to secure a 37–31 victory.<ref name="T28FEB">{{cite news |title=Snooker: Higgins makes final flourish |newspaper=The Times |date=28 February 1972 |page=7}}</ref>{{efn|Some sources give the score as 37–32. ''The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History'' (2004) says "Higgins triumphed 37–31 (not 37–32 as so many publications have wrongly printed)".<ref name="CUESPORT" />{{rp|8}}}} <!-- The Times and Chris Turner's Snooker Archive both give the final score as 37-31; Snooker Scene, Morrison--> Spencer made three century breaks during the final,<ref name="T28FEB" /> while the highest break by Higgins was the 94 in the decisive frame.<ref name="BAIZE" />{{rp|85}} The trophy was presented to Higgins by Pulman.<ref>{{cite magazine  |title=(Picture caption) |magazine=Snooker Scene |date=April 1972 |page=1}}</ref>

Higgins, who was required to win two qualifying matches to reach the tournament proper, became the first qualifier to win the world snooker championship. The win made him the youngest champion, at the age of {{Age in years and days|1949|03|18|1972|02|26}}, until [[Stephen Hendry]] won the title in [[1990 World Snooker Championship|1990]]. He received £480 prize money for the match, while Spencer received £320, in addition to their earnings from previous rounds.<ref name="SANDBROOK" /><ref name="HIT">{{cite news |last=Everton |first=Clive |title=Spencer-Higgins world snooker final is a hit with the fans |work=The Birmingham Post |date=17 February 1972 |page=17}}</ref> Higgins also received 6,000 cigarettes from the sponsors.<ref name="BAIN">{{cite news |last=Bain |first=Mark |title=Alex Higgins and the six days that changed snooker for ever |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/features/alex-higgins-and-the-six-days-that-changed-snooker-for-ever-41387204.html |newspaper=Belfast Telegraph |date=26 February 2022 |access-date=15 August 2022 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> The final attracted little press attention; the match report in ''The Times'' ran to only 90 words.<ref name="BAIZE" /><ref name="T28FEB"/> Shortly afterwards, however, there was increasing interest, particularly in Higgins, from news media.<ref name="BAIZE" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Hendon |first=David |title=Alex Higgins: the man who changed snooker |url=https://wst.tv/alex-higgins-the-man-who-changed-snooker/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516092957/https://wst.tv/alex-higgins-the-man-who-changed-snooker/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 May 2022 |date=16 May 2022 |website=World Snooker |access-date=14 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Kane |first=Desmond |title=Blood on the carpet: how Higgins and Davis made modern snooker |url=https://www.eurosport.co.uk/snooker/world-championship/2016-2017/blood-on-the-carpet-how-bitter-rivals-alex-higgins-and-steve-davis-created-modern-snooker_sto6126816/story.shtml |date=25 July 2020 |website=Eurosport |access-date=14 August 2022 }}</ref> In March he was the subject of a profile in ''The Sunday People'', and a documentary titled ''Hurricane Higgins'' was broadcast on [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]] in September 1972.<ref name="BAIZE" /><ref name="BURN">{{cite book |last=Burn |first=Gordon |title=Pocket money |year=2008 |orig-year=1986 |publisher=Faber & Faber |location=London |isbn=978-0-571-23683-1 |pages=121–125}}</ref>

[[Gordon Burn]] described Higgins's play on the Thursday evening of the final, during which Higgins won all six frames, as "snooker which, in its insolence, its exuberance, its confidence and its danger, few of those present have ever seen before".<ref name="BURN" />{{rp|123}} Journalist [[Donald Trelford]] wrote of Higgins that "This thin, pale, hollow-cheeked ex-jockey was something new to the game, cutting through its genteel pretensions like a swordsman."<ref name="TRELFORD">{{cite book |last=Trelford |first=Donald |title=Snookered |year=1986 |publisher=Faber & Faber |location=London |isbn=978-0-571-13640-7}}</ref>{{rp|90}} Snooker historian [[Clive Everton]] told Trelford that after Higgins's victory, "snooker was never the same again".<ref name="TRELFORD"/>{{rp|90}} Promotions company West and Nally, believing that the emergence of Higgins represented a commercial opportunity, organised a further [[Park Drive 2000#1972 (Autumn)|Park Drive 2000]] event.<ref name="HSB" /> Park Drive sponsored the [[1973 World Snooker Championship]] providing £8,000 in prize money.<ref name="STR">{{cite book |last=Everton |first=Clive |date=1985 |title=Snooker: The Records |publisher=Guinness Superlatives Ltd |location=Enfield |isbn=978-0-85112-448-3 |pages=57–58}}</ref> The 1973 Championship was staged as fortnight-long event rather than a much longer tournament like the 1972 Championship had been,<ref name="HSB" /> and for the first time, part of the final was televised by the [[BBC]].<ref name="STR"/>

== Main draw ==
Results are shown below. Winning players are denoted in bold.<ref name="AHMP" /><ref>{{cite web|title=1972 World Championships Results|url=http://www.snookerdatabase.co.uk/EventResults.aspx?EventKey=40|publisher=Snooker Database|accessdate=6 March 2012|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618130638/http://www.snookerdatabase.co.uk/EventResults.aspx?EventKey=40|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Snooker Scene">{{cite web|title=Embassy World Championship|url=http://www.snookerscene.co.uk/page.php?id=36|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124071753/http://www.snookerscene.co.uk/page.php?id=36|archivedate=24 January 2013|publisher=Snooker Scene|accessdate=9 May 2012}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable " style="font-size: 90%"
|+First round (Best of 37 frames)
|-
!width=180|Player
!width=60|Score
!width=180|Player
|-
| '''{{flagathlete|[[Alex Higgins]]|NIR}}''' || align="center"| '''19'''–11  || {{flagathlete|[[Jackie Rea]]|NIR}}
|-
| '''{{flagathlete|[[John Pulman]]|ENG}}''' || align="center"| '''19'''–7 || {{flagathlete|[[John Dunning (snooker player)|John Dunning]]|ENG}}
|-
|'''{{flagathlete|[[Fred Davis (snooker player)|Fred Davis]]|ENG}}''' ||align="center" | [[walkover|w.o.]]|| {{flagathlete|[[Kingsley Kennerley]]|ENG}}
|}

{{Round8
<!--Date-Place/Team 1/Score 1/Team 2/Score 2 -->
<!-- Quarter-finals -->
|Best of 61 frames
|'''{{flagathlete|[[John Spencer (snooker player)|John Spencer]]|ENG}}''' |'''31''' |{{flagathlete|[[Fred Davis (snooker player)|Fred Davis]]|ENG}}|21
|Best of 61 frames
|'''{{flagathlete|[[Eddie Charlton]]|AUS}}''' |'''31''' |{{flagathlete|[[David Taylor (snooker player)|David Taylor]]|ENG}}|25
|Best of 61 frames
|'''{{flagathlete|[[Alex Higgins]]|NIR}}''' |'''31'''|{{flagathlete|[[John Pulman]]|ENG}}|23
|Best of 49 frames
|'''{{flagathlete|[[Rex Williams]]|ENG}}''' |'''25''' |{{flagathlete|[[Ray Reardon]]|WAL}}|23
<!-- Semi-finals -->
|Best of 73 frames
|'''{{flagathlete|[[John Spencer (snooker player)|John Spencer]]|ENG}}''' |'''37''' |{{flagathlete|[[Eddie Charlton]]|AUS}}|32
|Best of 61 frames
|'''{{flagathlete|[[Alex Higgins]]|NIR}}''' |'''31''' |{{flagathlete|[[Rex Williams]]|ENG}}|30
<!-- Final -->
|Best of 73 frames
|{{flagathlete|[[John Spencer (snooker player)|John Spencer]]|ENG}} |31|'''{{flagathlete|[[Alex Higgins]]|NIR}}''' |'''37'''
}}

==Qualifying==
Results are shown below. Winning players are denoted in bold.<ref name="Snooker Scene"/><ref name="AHMP" />
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
{|class="wikitable " style="font-size: 90%"
|+Round 1 (Best of 21 frames)
|-
!width=170|Player
!width=60|Score
!width=170|Player
|-
| '''{{flagathlete|[[Alex Higgins]]|NIR}}''' || align="center" |'''15'''–6 || {{flagathlete|[[Ron Gross]]|ENG}}
|-
| '''{{flagathlete|[[Maurice Parkin]]|ENG}}''' || align="center" |'''11'''–10 || {{flagathlete|[[Geoff Thompson (snooker player)|Geoff Thompson]]|ENG}}
|-
| '''{{flagathlete|[[John Dunning (snooker player)|John Dunning]]|ENG}}''' || align="center" |'''11'''–10 || {{flagathlete|[[Pat Houlihan]]|ENG}}
|-
| '''{{flagathlete|[[Graham Miles]]|ENG}}''' ||align="center" | '''15'''–6 || {{flagathlete|[[Bernard Bennett]]|ENG}}
|}
{{col-2}}
{|class="wikitable " style="font-size: 90%"
|+Round 2 (Best of 21 frames)
|-
| '''{{flagathlete|[[Alex Higgins]]|NIR}}''' || align="center" |'''11'''–3 || {{flagathlete|[[Maurice Parkin]]|ENG}}
|-
| '''{{flagathlete|[[John Dunning (snooker player)|John Dunning]]|ENG}}''' ||align="center" | '''11'''–5 || {{flagathlete|[[Graham Miles]]|ENG}}
|}
{{col-end}}

==Known century breaks==
The known century breaks made at the qualifying and main tournament were as follows.{{efn|There were no known century breaks by Bennett, Davis, Dunning, Gross, Houlihan, Parkin, Pulman, Rea, Reardon, Thompson, or Williams.<ref name="KOBY"/>{{rp|12, 47, 66, 92, 114, 189, 200, 201, 203, 238, 264}}}}
*133, 115, 104, 103, four other century breaks {{ndash}} [[Alex Higgins]]<ref name="KOBY">{{cite book |last=Kobylecky |first=John |date=2019 |title=The Complete International Directory of Snooker Players – 1927 to 2018 |publisher=Kobyhadrian Books  |isbn=978-0-9931433-1-1 }}</ref>{{rp|108}}
*124 {{ndash}} [[Eddie Charlton]]<ref name="KOBY"/>{{rp|34}}
*123, 109, 101 {{ndash}} [[John Spencer (snooker player)|John Spencer]]<ref name="KOBY"/>{{rp|226}}
*115 {{ndash}} [[Graham Miles]]<ref name="KOBY"/>{{rp|154}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{World Snooker Championship}}
{{Snooker season 1971/1972}}

[[Category:World Snooker Championships|1972]]
[[Category:1972 in snooker|World Championships]]
[[Category:1972 in English sport|World Snooker Championship]]
[[Category:Sports competitions in Birmingham, West Midlands]]

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