Pot Black

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Pot Black

Pot Black was a UK televised

Television

Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
snooker

Snooker

Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a large baize-covered snooker table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions....
tournament that played a large part in the popularisation of the modern game.

In the late 1960s the BBC started broadcasting in colour, and were looking for programmes that could exploit this new technology. The game of snooker, with its rainbow of differently coloured balls, was suggested. The format of a knockout tournament, with weekly single-frame matches, was devised by BBC Birmingham producer Philip Lewis, and the programme first aired on 23 July 1969, on BBC2

BBC Two

BBC Two is the second major terrestrial television channel of the BBC, aimed at a wide range of subject matter and interests, and specialising in intelligent yet popular programme genres....
, presented by Alan Weeks

Alan Weeks

Alan Weeks was a British people television sports reporter and commentator.He was the son of a mariner and attended Brighton Grammar School. Weeks worked all his broadcasting life with the BBC....
, with referee Sydney Lee and match commentary by "Whispering" Ted Lowe

Ted Lowe

Ted Lowe is a retired BBC snooker commentator. He was instrumental in the game's rise in popularity in the 1980s. His hushed tones led to him being dubbed 'Whispering Ted Lowe', and originated from the fact that he often recorded his early commentaries from within the crowd, meaning that he had to avoid disturbing the players....
.

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Encyclopedia

Pot Black was a UK televised

Television

Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
snooker

Snooker

BBC Two

Alan Weeks

Ted Lowe

Ray Reardon

Ray Reardon, MBE is a retired Wales snooker player. He dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning six World Snooker Championship in that decade....
. Mark Williams holds the highest break record of 119.

The success of Pot Black was immediate and phenomenal, and it became the second most popular programme on BBC2. The tournament featured a round-robin tournament

Round-robin tournament

A round-robin tournament or all-play-all tournament is a type of tournament#Group tournaments in which each participant plays every other participant an equal number of times....
where the total number of points scored could often become crucial. Therefore matches always ended with the potting of the black ball, which is often not bothered with in multi-frame matches.

Pot Black's theme tune was the ragtime classic Black and White Rag
Black and White Rag

Black and White Rag is a 1908 ragtime composition by George Botsford.The first known recording of this piece was by Albert Benzler, recorded on U-S Everlasting Cylinder 380 in about 1909....
, composed by George Botsford

George Botsford

George Botsford was an American composer of ragtime and other forms of music.Botsford was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and grew up in Iowa....
and performed by Winifred Atwell

Winifred Atwell

Winifred Atwell was a pianist who enjoyed great popularity in UK and other countries from the 1950s with a series of boogie woogie and ragtime hits....
.

Original version

Pot Black ran from 1969 to 1986, by which time professional snooker, with its long matches, had become so popular that the single-frame matches (the finals were the best of 3 frames from 1978 to 1997) that Pot Black offered seemed almost irrelevant. The original version of Pot Black only had two hosts, Alan Weeks

Alan Weeks

David Icke

David Vaughan Icke , born April 29, 1952, is a British writer and public speaker who has devoted himself since 1990 to researching "who and what is really controlling the world." A former professional football player, reporter, television sports presenter, and spokesman for the Green Party, he is the author of 20 books explaining his views....
.

Pot Black featured all the top players of its time, with many such as Fred Davis, Ray Reardon

Ray Reardon

Ray Reardon, MBE is a retired Wales snooker player. He dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning six World Snooker Championship in that decade....
, Graham Miles

Graham Miles

Graham Miles is a retired England snooker player.Miles turned professional in 1969 after a relatively unsuccessful amateur career. He first gained recognition in 1974, when he reached the final of the World Snooker Championship 1974....
and Alex Higgins

Alex Higgins

Alexander Gordon Higgins , best known as Alex "Hurricane" Higgins, is a professional snooker player from Northern Ireland, who was twice World Snooker Championship and runner-up on two occasions....
becoming well-loved personalities. Pot Black helped transform snooker from a minority sport with just a handful of professionals into one of the most popular sports in the UK, where every tournament is fiercely contested and the top players earn millions annually, but there is much nostalgia for the simpler, friendlier days of Pot Black.

Pot Black is sometimes credited with producing one of the most memorable British sports quotes. Legendary commentator Ted Lowe, aware that not all viewers had colour televisions, said the player is "going for the yellow ball by the sidepocket - and for those in black and white, it's next to the blue.". However, this quote is more likely to have occurred during a live snooker match, and not during the pre-recorded Pot Black - especially as it was featured on a '50 Years of ITV' special of It'll Be Alright on the Night
It'll be Alright on the Night

It'll be Alright on the Night is a long-running United Kingdom television bloopers show screened on ITV and produced by London Weekend Television....
, and Pot Black is a BBC show.

Revivals

It returned in 1991 being shown on BBC1's afternoon schedule. In 1992, The show's bosses introduced a single "time-frame" tournament before returning to the normal format in 1993 before the series ended.

A junior version, called Junior Pot Black, ran from 1981 to 1983 and that was also revived in 1991, for a single year. It was won by Dean Reynolds

Dean Reynolds

Dean Reynolds in Grimsby is an English people professional snooker player....
, John Parrott

John Parrott

John Parrott Order of the British Empire is an England professional snooker player.He won the World Snooker Championship in World Snooker Championship 1991, defeating Jimmy White in the final....
(twice) and Ronnie O'Sullivan

Ronnie O'Sullivan

Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , nicknamed "The Rocket" due to his rapid playing style, is an English people professional snooker player....
.

Pot Black also returned in 1997 as Seniors Pot Black, featuring players who were over 40 at the time. Joe Johnson

Joe Johnson (snooker player)

Joe Johnson is an England former professional snooker player. He is most well known as the surprise winner of the World Snooker Championship 1986 World Snooker Championship....
won the series, having never taken part in the original series. Retired players Ray Reardon

Ray Reardon

Ray Reardon, MBE is a retired Wales snooker player. He dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning six World Snooker Championship in that decade....
, John Spencer

John Spencer (snooker player)

John Spencer was an English people professional snooker player who dominated the game in the 1970s along with Ray Reardon. Spencer was born in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ....
, Perrie Mans

Perrie Mans

Pierre "Perrie" Mans is a retired professional snooker player from South Africa, who first won the South African professional championship in 1965, and went on to win it 19 times in total....
, Eddie Charlton

Eddie Charlton

Graham Miles

Dennis Taylor

Dennis Taylor is a retired snooker player, and current BBC snooker commentator. Taylor is well known for his sense of humour and his trademark over-sized glasses....
, Cliff Thorburn

Cliff Thorburn

Clifford Charles Devlin Thorburn, Order of Canada is a retired professional Canada snooker player. A former world number one , he reached three world finals and won one of them making him the only player outside the British isles to win the world title in the modern era....
, Terry Griffiths

Terry Griffiths

Terrence "Terry" Griffiths OBE is a retired Wales snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. He won the World Championship in World Snooker Championship 1979, and reached the World Snooker Championship 1988 final....
, Willie Thorne

Willie Thorne

William Joseph Thorne , best known as Willie Thorne, is a former English people professional snooker player and now a Sportscaster....
and Johnson.

A Celebrity Pot Black was held on 15 July 2006 in aid of Sport Relief

Sport Relief

Sport Relief is a biennial charity event from Comic Relief , in association with BBC Sport, which brings together the worlds of sport and entertainment to raise money to help vulnerable people in both the UK and the world's poorest countries....
. It was contested between the team of Ronnie O'Sullivan

Ronnie O'Sullivan

Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , nicknamed "The Rocket" due to his rapid playing style, is an English people professional snooker player....
and Bradley Walsh

Bradley Walsh

Bradley Walsh is an England Comedy and television actor....
and the team of Steve Davis

Steve Davis

Steve Davis, Order of the British Empire, is an England professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Snooker Championship during the 1980s....
and Vernon Kay

Vernon Kay

Vernon Charles Kay is a United Kingdom television presenter, DJ and former model from Bolton, Lancashire, England. He began TV presenting on the BBC children's show FBi, a spin-off of Fully Booked....
. Steve Davis and Vernon Kay were the winners and became the first ever champions of Celebrity Pot Black. Dermot O'Leary

Dermot O'Leary

Dermot O'Leary is a presenter of radio presenter and television presenter, best known for presenting Big Brother's Little Brother and, currently, The X Factor ....
hosted and Michaela Tabb

Michaela Tabb

Michaela Tabb is the world's leading female snooker and Pocket billiards referee. She resides in Dunfermline, Scotland with her husband Scottish pool player Ross McInnes and their two children....
was the referee for the one frame match.

Revivals have been hosted by Eamonn Holmes

Eamonn Holmes

Eamonn Reginald Holmes is an Irish people television and radio presenter based in England. His prolific presenting across many programmes and channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland and hectic schedule was often parodied in the media to the extent that he was said to hold a monopoly....
(1991 and 1992), David Vine

David Vine

David Martin Vine was a United Kingdom television sports presenter. He presented a wide variety of shows from the 1960s onwards....
(1993 and 1997) and Hazel Irvine

Hazel Irvine

Hazel Irvine , is a television presenter from the United Kingdom. Educated at Hermitage Academy in Helensburgh, she achieved an M.A. in History of Art at the University of St....
since 2005.

Current version

A one-day Pot Black tournament was held on 29 October 2005, and broadcast on the BBC sports programme Grandstand
Grandstand (BBC)

Grandstand was a United Kingdom television sport programme, and was one of the BBC's longest running sports shows, alongside BBC Sports Personality of the Year....
. The invitational event featured eight players, namely Ronnie O'Sullivan

Ronnie O'Sullivan

Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , nicknamed "The Rocket" due to his rapid playing style, is an English people professional snooker player....
, Stephen Hendry

Stephen Hendry

Stephen Gordon Hendry, Order of the British Empire is a Scottish people professional snooker player. In 1990, he was the youngest-ever snooker World Champion, at 21....
, Stephen Maguire

Stephen Maguire

Stephen Maguire is a Scotland professional snooker player from Glasgow....
, Matthew Stevens

Matthew Stevens

Matthew Stevens is a Welsh people professional snooker player. Turning professional in 1994, Stevens reached number six in the Snooker world rankings 2000/2001 and spent the next seven seasons in the top 8, peaking at #4 for Snooker world rankings 2005/2006....
, Paul Hunter

Paul Hunter

Paul Alan Hunter was an English people professional snooker player. His media profile developed swiftly and he became known as the "David Beckham of the Baize" for his glamorous image....
, John Higgins, Jimmy White

Jimmy White

James Warren White, Order of the British Empire is an English people professional snooker player, best known as Jimmy White. Nicknamed the "Whirlwind" , White is a multiple World Championship finalist....
and Shaun Murphy

Shaun Murphy (snooker player)

Shaun Murphy is an English people professional snooker player who is the reigning UK Championship, and the 2005 World Snooker Championship.Murphy is noted for his widely acclaimed cue action and his consistent long potting....
, with Matthew Stevens

Matthew Stevens

Shaun Murphy (snooker player)

Royal Automobile Club

The Royal Automobile Club is a private club and is not to be confused with RAC plc, a motorists' organisation, which it formerly owned.It has two club houses, one in London at 89-91 Pall Mall, London, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, Surrey, next to the City of London Freemen's School....
in Pall Mall

Pall Mall, London

Pall Mall is a street in the City of Westminster, London, situated in London SW1 and parallel to The Mall , from St. James's Street across Waterloo Place to the Haymarket; while Pall Mall East continues into Trafalgar Square....
, London

London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
on 2 September 2006. Mark J Williams beat John Higgins and achieved the highest break in the history of the tournament with a 119 clearance in the final.

The 2007 Pot Black Cup

2007 Pot Black Cup

The 2007 Pot Black single-frame knockout snooker tournament was held at the Sheffield City Hall on 6 October 2007. Mark J. Williams was the defending champion. ...
was aired on Saturday 6 October 2007 at 1pm on BBC One

BBC One

BBC One is the primary television channel of the BBC . It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular public television service with a high level of ....
. It was won by Ken Doherty

Ken Doherty

Ken Doherty is an Republic of Ireland professional snooker player. He is the only player ever to have been world amateur and World Snooker Championship champion ....
(who beat Shaun Murphy

Shaun Murphy (snooker player)

Irish people

The Irish people are a Western European ethnic group who originate in Ireland, in north western Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolgs, Tuatha D? Danann and the Milesians ?the last group supposedly representing the "pure" Gaelic a...
to win the competition. Pot Black was not held in 2008.

Records

There have only been six century breaks in the history of Pot Black. Eddie Charlton

Eddie Charlton

Edward Francis Charlton Order of Australia was a top-class Australian snooker and English billiards player. He remains the only player to have been world championship runner-up in both snooker and billiards without winning either title....
notched the first ever century and his 110 break stood as the record for many years until eclipsed by Shaun Murphy's 111 against Jimmy White in 2005. The highest break is now held by Mark Williams with his 119 in 2006.

Winners

Year	Winner	Opponent
1969	Ray Reardon Ray Reardon Ray Reardon, MBE is a retired Wales snooker player. He dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning six World Snooker Championship in that decade....	John Spencer John Spencer (snooker player) John Spencer was an English people professional snooker player who dominated the game in the 1970s along with Ray Reardon. Spencer was born in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ....	1-0	88-29
1970	John Spencer John Spencer (snooker player) John Spencer was an English people professional snooker player who dominated the game in the 1970s along with Ray Reardon. Spencer was born in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ....	Ray Reardon Ray Reardon Ray Reardon, MBE is a retired Wales snooker player. He dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning six World Snooker Championship in that decade....	1-0	88-27
1971	John Spencer John Spencer (snooker player) John Spencer was an English people professional snooker player who dominated the game in the 1970s along with Ray Reardon. Spencer was born in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ....	Fred Davis	1-0	61-40
1972	Eddie Charlton Eddie Charlton Edward Francis Charlton Order of Australia was a top-class Australian snooker and English billiards player. He remains the only player to have been world championship runner-up in both snooker and billiards without winning either title....	Ray Reardon Ray Reardon Ray Reardon, MBE is a retired Wales snooker player. He dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning six World Snooker Championship in that decade....	1-0	75-43
1973	Eddie Charlton Eddie Charlton Edward Francis Charlton Order of Australia was a top-class Australian snooker and English billiards player. He remains the only player to have been world championship runner-up in both snooker and billiards without winning either title....	Rex Williams Rex Williams Rex Williams , son of Minnie Roberts and William Williams, is a retired English people professional English billiards and snooker player.Williams was an excellent junior player, both of snooker and of billiards....	1-0	93-33
1974	Graham Miles Graham Miles Graham Miles is a retired England snooker player.Miles turned professional in 1969 after a relatively unsuccessful amateur career. He first gained recognition in 1974, when he reached the final of the World Snooker Championship 1974....	John Spencer John Spencer (snooker player) John Spencer was an English people professional snooker player who dominated the game in the 1970s along with Ray Reardon. Spencer was born in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ....	2-0	77-37, 70-49
1975	Graham Miles Graham Miles Graham Miles is a retired England snooker player.Miles turned professional in 1969 after a relatively unsuccessful amateur career. He first gained recognition in 1974, when he reached the final of the World Snooker Championship 1974....	Dennis Taylor Dennis Taylor Dennis Taylor is a retired snooker player, and current BBC snooker commentator. Taylor is well known for his sense of humour and his trademark over-sized glasses....	1-0	81-27
1976	John Spencer John Spencer (snooker player) John Spencer was an English people professional snooker player who dominated the game in the 1970s along with Ray Reardon. Spencer was born in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ....	Dennis Taylor Dennis Taylor Dennis Taylor is a retired snooker player, and current BBC snooker commentator. Taylor is well known for his sense of humour and his trademark over-sized glasses....	1-0	69-42
1977	Perrie Mans Perrie Mans Pierre "Perrie" Mans is a retired professional snooker player from South Africa, who first won the South African professional championship in 1965, and went on to win it 19 times in total....	Doug Mountjoy Doug Mountjoy Doug Mountjoy is a retired Wales snooker player, who reached the peak of his fame in the 1980s. Although he only won two ranking titles, he did so in successive tournaments - and while in his mid 40s....	1-0	90-21
1978	Doug Mountjoy Doug Mountjoy Doug Mountjoy is a retired Wales snooker player, who reached the peak of his fame in the 1980s. Although he only won two ranking titles, he did so in successive tournaments - and while in his mid 40s....	Graham Miles Graham Miles Graham Miles is a retired England snooker player.Miles turned professional in 1969 after a relatively unsuccessful amateur career. He first gained recognition in 1974, when he reached the final of the World Snooker Championship 1974....	2-1	45-55, 97-23, 111-16
1979	Ray Reardon Ray Reardon Ray Reardon, MBE is a retired Wales snooker player. He dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning six World Snooker Championship in that decade....	Doug Mountjoy Doug Mountjoy Doug Mountjoy is a retired Wales snooker player, who reached the peak of his fame in the 1980s. Although he only won two ranking titles, he did so in successive tournaments - and while in his mid 40s....	2-1	79-51, 25-82, 84-41
1980	Eddie Charlton Eddie Charlton Edward Francis Charlton Order of Australia was a top-class Australian snooker and English billiards player. He remains the only player to have been world championship runner-up in both snooker and billiards without winning either title....	Ray Reardon Ray Reardon Ray Reardon, MBE is a retired Wales snooker player. He dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning six World Snooker Championship in that decade....	2-1	16-74, 85-30, 68-54
1981	Cliff Thorburn Cliff Thorburn Clifford Charles Devlin Thorburn, Order of Canada is a retired professional Canada snooker player. A former world number one , he reached three world finals and won one of them making him the only player outside the British isles to win the world title in the modern era....	Jim Wych Jim Wych Jim Wych is a sports announcer and former Canada professional snooker and English billiards player. He reached the quarter-final of the Embassy World Professional Snooker Championship in his debut year of 1980, a "first" for any overseas player....	2-0	68-39, 85-50
1982	Steve Davis Steve Davis Steve Davis, Order of the British Empire, is an England professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Snooker Championship during the 1980s....	Eddie Charlton Eddie Charlton Edward Francis Charlton Order of Australia was a top-class Australian snooker and English billiards player. He remains the only player to have been world championship runner-up in both snooker and billiards without winning either title....	2-0
1983	Steve Davis Steve Davis Steve Davis, Order of the British Empire, is an England professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Snooker Championship during the 1980s....	Ray Reardon Ray Reardon Ray Reardon, MBE is a retired Wales snooker player. He dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning six World Snooker Championship in that decade....	2-0
1984	Terry Griffiths Terry Griffiths Terrence "Terry" Griffiths OBE is a retired Wales snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. He won the World Championship in World Snooker Championship 1979, and reached the World Snooker Championship 1988 final....	John Spencer John Spencer (snooker player) John Spencer was an English people professional snooker player who dominated the game in the 1970s along with Ray Reardon. Spencer was born in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ....	2-1
1985	Doug Mountjoy Doug Mountjoy Doug Mountjoy is a retired Wales snooker player, who reached the peak of his fame in the 1980s. Although he only won two ranking titles, he did so in successive tournaments - and while in his mid 40s....	Jimmy White Jimmy White James Warren White, Order of the British Empire is an English people professional snooker player, best known as Jimmy White. Nicknamed the "Whirlwind" , White is a multiple World Championship finalist....	2- 0
1986	Jimmy White Jimmy White James Warren White, Order of the British Empire is an English people professional snooker player, best known as Jimmy White. Nicknamed the "Whirlwind" , White is a multiple World Championship finalist....	Kirk Stevens Kirk Stevens Kirk Stevens is a Canada professional snooker player.Stevens started playing young, achieving his first aged just 12. He turned professional aged 20, and reached the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship aged 21....	2-0
1991	Steve Davis Steve Davis Steve Davis, Order of the British Empire, is an England professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Snooker Championship during the 1980s....	Stephen Hendry Stephen Hendry Stephen Gordon Hendry, Order of the British Empire is a Scottish people professional snooker player. In 1990, he was the youngest-ever snooker World Champion, at 21....	2-1
1992	Neal Foulds Neal Foulds Neal Foulds is a former English people professional snooker player and is now a commentator on the sport. He earned a little over Pound sterling1 million in prize money, but later went bankrupt....	James Wattana James Wattana James Wattana as Wattana Pu-Ob-Orm, then renamed to Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm in 2003) is a Thai people professional snooker player....
1993	Steve Davis Steve Davis Steve Davis, Order of the British Empire, is an England professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Snooker Championship during the 1980s....	Mike Hallett Mike Hallett Mike Hallett is an England professional snooker player and television sports commentator....
1997	Joe Johnson Joe Johnson (snooker player) Joe Johnson is an England former professional snooker player. He is most well known as the surprise winner of the World Snooker Championship 1986 World Snooker Championship....	Terry Griffiths Terry Griffiths Terrence "Terry" Griffiths OBE is a retired Wales snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. He won the World Championship in World Snooker Championship 1979, and reached the World Snooker Championship 1988 final....
2005 2005 Pot Black The 2008 Pot Black single-frame knockout snooker tournament was held at the Sheffield City Hall on 29 October 2005. ...	Matthew Stevens Matthew Stevens Matthew Stevens is a Welsh people professional snooker player. Turning professional in 1994, Stevens reached number six in the Snooker world rankings 2000/2001 and spent the next seven seasons in the top 8, peaking at #4 for Snooker world rankings 2005/2006....	Shaun Murphy Shaun Murphy (snooker player) Shaun Murphy is an English people professional snooker player who is the reigning UK Championship, and the 2005 World Snooker Championship.Murphy is noted for his widely acclaimed cue action and his consistent long potting....	1-0	53-27
2006 2006 Pot Black The 2006 Pot Black single-frame knockout snooker tournament was held at the Sheffield City Hall on 2 September 2006. Matthew Stevens was the defending champion....	Mark J Williams	John Higgins	1-0	119-13
2007	Ken Doherty Ken Doherty Ken Doherty is an Republic of Ireland professional snooker player. He is the only player ever to have been world amateur and World Snooker Championship champion ....	Shaun Murphy Shaun Murphy (snooker player) Shaun Murphy is an English people professional snooker player who is the reigning UK Championship, and the 2005 World Snooker Championship.Murphy is noted for his widely acclaimed cue action and his consistent long potting....	1-0	71-36

Media coverage

Pot Black currently gets shown on BBC One

BBC One

External links

at UKGameshows.com
UKGameshows.com

UKGameshows.com is a website dedicated to United Kingdom game shows. The site currently provides information on more than 1,500 British game show formats from 1938 to the present day, over 500 mini-biographies of hosts, along with numerous other background articles....