1974 World Snooker Championship

The World Snooker Championship is a professional tournament and the official world championship of the game of snooker.[2] The sport was developed in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India.[3]^: 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.[4] In 1927, the final of the first professional snooker championship was held at Camkin's Hall; Davis won the tournament.[5] The annual competition was not titled the World Championship until 1935,[6] but the 1927 tournament is now referred to as the first World Snooker Championship.[7][8]

In 1952, the, 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, whilst only two players entered for the BACC's 1952 World Snooker Championship.[9]^: 47[10] 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.[10][11][12] Pulman retained the title in several challenges from 1964 to 1968.[10]

The 1969 championship, when the tournament reverted to a knockout format, is regarded as the first of the modern snooker era, and was won by John Spencer.[13][14] From 1972, the championship was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), which was the renamed PBPA. In 1974, Park Drive were the tournament sponsors for the second time. The defending champion was Ray Reardon, who defeated Eddie Charlton 38–32 in the 1973 final.

• The first round matches were played on 16 April, the second round matches on 17 and 18 April, the quarter-finals on 19 and 20 April, the semi-finals on 21 and 22 April with the final played over 3 days from 23 to 25 April.
• Canadian Bill Werbeniuk made his World Championship debut, and beat Geoff Thompson 8–3 in the first round, before losing to Fred Davis 5–15 in the second round.[15]
• This was the last time that Park Drive sponsored the event and there was no sponsor the following year.[1]
• Tournament runner-up Graham Miles made the highest break of the event with a 131.[16]

Sources:[17][18][19]

	Round 1 Best of 15 frames				Round 2 Best of 29 frames				Quarter-finals Best of 29 frames				Semi-finals Best of 29 frames				Final Best of 43 frames
	Kingsley Kennerley	5			Ray Reardon	15
	Jim Meadowcroft	8			Jim Meadowcroft	3
									Ray Reardon	15
									Marcus Owen	11
	Maurice Parkin	5	Gary Owen	8
	Marcus Owen	8			Marcus Owen	15
													Ray Reardon	15
													Fred Davis	3
	Bernard Bennett	8			Alex Higgins	15
	Warren Simpson	2			Bernard Bennett	4
									Alex Higgins	14
									Fred Davis	15
	Bill Werbeniuk	8	Fred Davis	15
	Geoff Thompson	3			Bill Werbeniuk	5
																	Ray Reardon	22
																	Graham Miles	12
	Perrie Mans	8			John Spencer	13
	Ian Anderson	1			Perrie Mans	15
									Perrie Mans	4
									Rex Williams	15
	John Pulman	8	Rex Williams	15
	Sydney Lee	0			John Pulman	12
													Rex Williams	7
													Graham Miles	15
	Paddy Morgan	8			Graham Miles	15
	Cliff Thorburn	4			Paddy Morgan	7
									Graham Miles	15
									John Dunning	13
	John Dunning	8	Eddie Charlton	13
	David Taylor	6			John Dunning	15

Source:[17]

Best of 15 frames
John Dunning	8–2	David Greaves
Warren Simpson	8–3	Jackie Rea
Jim Meadowcroft	8–5	Pat Houlihan
Cliff Thorburn	8–3	Alan McDonald
John Pulman	8–0	Jack Karnehm
David Taylor	8–7	Ron Gross
Marcus Owen	8–1	Dennis Taylor