By Elliott West
Introduction
The 1976 Embassy World Championship was an event that preceded the current location of the Crucible Theatre and took place between The Middlesborough Town Hall and the Wythenshawe Forum, Manchester with the final being played in Manchester. The tournament was made up of 14 players from the Order of Merit, gaining automatic entry and two winners from the qualifying competition. The leading 8 in the Order of Merit were seeded and the final was held over four days from 20 to 23 April. A final that was full of sparks as two world champions, Alex Higgins and Ray Reardon faced a showdown for the title
Sparks will Fly
This was a final that was portrayed as a classic with the skilful technician, Reardon, who had already won three world titles, faced the irrational Higgins, who was able of performing snooker poetry on the green baize. However the day before the final, a hint of what may follow came with Reardon requesting that cloth, slate and lighting should be changed so that Alex didn’t have an unfair advantage. A request that seemed belated at the time and somewhat inappropriate for such a prestigious final.
Ray got off to a disastrous start with Higgins taking a 4-2 lead, a scoreline that could have resulted in a whitewash in the man from Northern Ireland’s favour. However, a respotted black in the third and a careless miss on the pink by Alex in the fourth frame lessened the blow for the Welshman. Higgins redeemed his errors by taking the last two frames of the session including a break of 87 in the sixth.
Reardon who was traditionally a very placid and jovial player, had a moment of anger, banging his cue on the table over the centre pocket when a blue jumped out and showing his volatility by complaining about the brightness of the television lightning and saying it was rigged too low over the table. A gripe that caused Ray to lodge a complaint after the first session and even helping the electricians move them when there was a change to the location of the lighting.
This complaint seemed to work for Reardon as the tide changed in the match with Ray reeling off the first five frames of the second session with breaks of 70, 58, 44 and 83. Higgins stemmed the tide by producing a 60 break, his only success of the session. Leading 8-5 and regaining his composure, Reardon seemed on top of the match but Alex then took the first five frames of the next session, taking a 10-9 lead and rattling his opponent. An attack that caused the Welshman to regroup and only go for certainties, a move that swung the lead back to Reardon, taking the fourth session 15-11.
Breaking Point
The fifth session would be Alex’s breaking point. Starting off well by reducing Reardon’s lead to 15-13 by taking the first two frames but the cracks would appear in the next frame when he missed a red along the cushion whilst making a 68 break. A frame that would be won by Ray and he went to win the next after needing a snooker with only the colours left. Reardon went on to win the session 19-13 and so destroyed Higgins’ resistance and leaving him with a virtually impossible task, leaving a large dent in Alex’s confidence.
The final session started with a change of referee with Bill Timms exiting and John Williams replacing him. The session would be all Reardon’s with the world champion romping through the frames. Ray only needed three frames to win the match and a target that was achieved effortlessly by Ray. An effort that led to a 27-16 victory with the Welshman receiving £6,000 and the man from Northern Ireland, £2,000. Reardon again showed he was a class act, a man who refrained from making any public comments during an at times, a tumultuous final.
