By Elliott West
Introduction
Back in 1978, the World Amateur Championship was played in an unlikely venue, an aircraft hangar on a wartime airfield, then the National Sports Pavilion at Taqali, Malta. Run over a three week period, this was reported to be a cold venue but the temperature was compensated by the warm affection of the local, 4000 strong, Maltese audience who took the players and the event into their hearts., chanting between each frame, reminiscent of a football match.
The table itself was set back from the seating area and must have felt a lonely place for the players, especially if they were on the losing end of a match. Thankfully two seating rows were later added for the press, so it reduced that feeling of isolation. A Nissen hut was used as the players’ social point to meet up for tea, coffee, or alcoholic beverages and to chew the fat and catch up with the local gossip. A beautiful atmosphere for a tournament where the audience was literally hanging off the ceiling to catch a glimpse of these captivating matches, especially the final.
The Tournament
The 1978 World Amateur Championship was the eighth edition of the world championship for amateurs and incorporated round-robin and knockout stages. The winner’s share was £1,000 and the tournament was held in Rabat, Malta with Joe Johnson making the highest break of 101.
Quarter-Finals
Kevin Burles beat Robert Paquette 5-4
In a dramatic match that involves a four-hour struggle, Australia’s Kevin Burles snatched victory, a match where neither player was ever more than one frame in front. At 3-3 the Canadian, Paquette won the seventh frame on the pink after being 31 behind. However, his opponent was to clinch the next frame with a fluke double on the last red when 20 in front. Paquette looked like he was going to seize victory but the match was won initially by a long black by Burles and then by a brilliant long pink.
Kirk Stevens beat Paul Mifsud 5-0
This was a match where the audience were literally hanging from the stanchions on the wall, sitting on the top of the tournament office, and clinging to the scoreboard. More than 3,000 people crammed into the room to see their local hero, Paul Mifsud, a player who had reached the final in Johannesburg two years previously.
With the pressure bearing down on Paul and the audience having rehearsed their chant an hour before the play started, Mifsud couldn’t stand the pressure and allowed Kirk to drink it in. Stevens outplayed his opponent with deadly potting and watertight safety play. A whitewash ensued and Stevens became the first Canadian to reach the semi-final. The writing was on the wall for Paul Mifsud in the first frame, ten minutes into the frame when he missed the black off its spot.
Joe Johnson beat Alwyn Lloyd 5-0
Alwyn Lloyd who had lost in the semi-final in Dublin in 1974 and headed the group, faced a similar fate this time. His cueing deteriorated throughout this match and he was never able to get going. Joe Johnson raced ahead to a 4-0 advantage and was only paused when his cue tip flew off in the fifth frame. A 17-minute delay occurred and returned with another cue. A golden opportunity for Lloyd to come back in the match but it didn’t happen, allowing Johnson to motor on to the semi-finals.
Cliff Wilson beat Joe Grech 5-4
Over 4,000 people came to watch this match, in a stadium that only held 3,000 and those who were lucky enough to attend, witnessed a resurgent Wilson, demonstrating his strength of character as a player. With only a thousand snooker players in Malta at the time, few of the audience were aware of the etiquette of the game and so were noisy but not ill-behaved. Wilson was the outsider amongst this local crowd and a section of the audience wanted to keep their Maltese hero, Joe Grech in the tournament as long as possible.
Wilson led the match 4-0 and produced some sensational long potting, a skill that was well known for but coughs and spluttering in the crowd put the Welshman off and from nowhere the Maltese player pulled the match back to 4-4. However in the decider, Cliff kept his cool and potted the final brown and blue to leave himself 18 points up on the pink. This was enough to claim victory.
Semi-Finals
Joe Johnson beat Kevin Burles 8-4
Burles won the first frame and also recovered from 1-3 to 3-4 at the interval. He looked pretty fluent at this stage and even scored an 85 break in the second frame. However, he then struggled and couldn’t make it 4-1 or 5-1. The evening was Johnson’s, coming back to 5-4 and then took the rest to win the match on the black, including breaks of 37, 32, 42, 48, and 62.
Cliff Wilson beat Kirk Stevens 8-2
Poor Kirk Stevens was frozen out of this match and was given a gentle reminder by the Welshman of what you have to go through to be educated as a player. Playing in a daze, the Canadian was already 7-0 down and posed little opposition. Stevens came back in the closing session and won two frames but his opponent was just too strong for him and he couldn’t fend off the required frame Cliff needed to win.
The Final
Cliff Wilson beat Joe Johnson 11-5
This was a final of the highest quality, separated only by a brief interval. Wilson started the match taking a 3-1 lead but Joe won the fifth frame after Cliff missed an attempt at a long black. Losing the next two frames, Wilson trailed 3-4 but came back to 5-5 in the last frame of the day.
Coming back, Wilson made it 7-5 after Johnson attempted a long ball and allowed Cliff to win the frame on the black. From then on, Joe lost his touch and feel for the table and his positioning deserted him. This allowed Cliff to win all of the six frames played on the last day.
