1973 Men of the Midlands
The 1973 Men of the Midlands was a professional invitational snooker tournament, that took place in January and February 1973 The tournament was won by Alex Higgins, who defeated Ray Reardon 5–3 in the final.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | January – February 1973 |
| Venue | various |
| Country | England |
| Format | Non-ranking event |
| Winner's share | £500 |
| Final | |
| Champion | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Alex Higgins (NIR) |
| Runner-up |  Ray Reardon (WAL) |
| Score | 5–3 |
← 1972 Last → | |
The competition featured a round-robin group stage, with four world snooker champions, John Pulman, John Spencer, Reardon and Higgins each playing the other three once.[1] Reardon finished on top of the group table.[2]
In the final, Higgins won the first frame, making a break of 47, and Reardon won the next making a break of 45. Higgins won the next to lead 3–1. Reardon won the fifth frame, but Higgins achieved victory by winning the sixth frame with a break of 70 and going on to take the match 5–3.[2]
The tournament was sponsored by Mitchells and Butlers.[1] Higgins earned £500 prize money as champion.[3]
Final
| Final: Best-of-9 frames. Whispering Wheels Club, Wolverhampton, 5 February 1973 | |||||||||
| Alex Higgins |
5–3 | Ray Reardon | |||||||
| Frame | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| Alex Higgins | 75 | 56 | 75 | 82 | 31 | 82 | 49 | 86 | |
| Ray Reardon | 5 | 58 | 48 | 38 | 77 | 39 | 72 | 52 | |
| Frames won (Higgins first) | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 4–2 | 4–3 | 5–3 | |
| Alex Higgins wins the 1973 Men of the Midlands title | |||||||||
References
- "Spencer puts on style". Coventry Evening Telegraph. Coventry. 25 January 1973. p. 50.
- "Higgins too hot for Ray". Belfast Telegraph. Belfast. 6 February 1973. p. 17.
- "Higgins takes Men of Midlands title". Birmingham Daily Post. Birmingham. 6 February 1973. p. 25.