1974 World Snooker Championship

Park Drive World Snooker Championship

Tournament information
Dates	16–25 April 1974
Venue	Belle Vue
City	Manchester
Country	England
Organisation(s)	WPBSA
Total prize fund	£10,000
Winner's share	£2,000[1]
Highest break	Graham Miles (131)
Final
Champion	Ray Reardon
Runner-up	Graham Miles
Score	22–12
← 1973 1975 →

The 1974 World Snooker Championship (also known as 1974 Park Drive World Snooker Championship for sponsorship reasons) was professional snooker tournament that took place between 16 and 25 April 1974 at the Belle Vue in Manchester, England.^[1]

Ray Reardon won his third World title by defeating Graham Miles 22–12 in the final.^[1]

Tournament summary

• 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.^[2]
• This was the last time that Park Drive sponsored the event and there was no sponsor the following year.^[1]
• Miles made the highest break of the tournament with 131.^[3]

Main draw

Sources:^[4][5][6]

	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

Qualifying

Source:^[4]

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	Alex McDonald
John Pulman	8–0	Jack Karnehm
David Taylor	8–7	Ron Gross
Marcus Owen	8–1	Dennis Taylor

References

1. Turner, Chris. "World Professional Championship". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
2. "Bill Werbeniuk at the World Championship". Snooker Database. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
3. "2004 Embassy World Championship Information". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 8 December 2004. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
4. "World Championship 1974". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 28 December 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
5. "1974 World Championships Results". Snooker Database. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
6. "Embassy World Championship". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2012.