By Elliott West
Introduction
Taking place between January 14th – January 17th, 1979 at the Fulcrum Centre in Slough, the Holstein Lager International was a non-ranking tournament and was televised on Thames Television. This was a star studded event with the cream of the crop taking part with sixteen players taking part, the likes of Alex Higgins, Ray Edmonds, John Spencer, Dennis Taylor and Cliff Thorburn to name but a few. Played in an era when alcohol and tobacco companies sponsored events, one would often see the players sample the products as they played.
The highlight of the tournament was John Spencer’s maximum break in his quarter-final clash with Cliff Thorburn. However this achievement came with several stings in the tail for Spencer. John received a prize payment of £500 for the 147 break from the sponsors but there was no specified, special prize for this tournament unlike the Benson and Hedges Masters for example where it would have been worth £10,000.
Secondly, this break was not recognised as an official world record jointly with the 147 made by Joe Davis against Willie Smith in 1955 at Leicester Square Hall and the 147 achieved by Rex Williams against Mannie Francisco in Cape Town in 1965. Although a certified referee, Nobby Clarke of Ipswich was officiating and the public was present, the pockets were not tested for size by the all important official B. & S.C.C. templates before the table was dismantled.
Thirdly, this maximum break was never televised as the Thames Television camera crew were not filming the last three frames when this break was achieved. Due to Union agreements with the television industry over breaks and meal breaks so without two complete production crews not every frame of the day’s play could be recorded. The late arrival of the two players caused by a late finish to the match between Alex Higgins and David Taylor, led to a decision to rest the crew during the afternoon session rather than the evening session. So a historic, snooker moment was never captured on film and viewers has to wait until 1981 for Steve Davis’s maximum in the Lada Classic quarter- final in 1981, ironically against John Spencer.
The Tournament
This tournament had every manner of drama entwined into it with Patsy Fagan getting the ‘yips’, freezing on the shot with the rest, in his match against John Spencer with Fagan compiling a 91 break in this best of three frames match. However Spencer came back to outdo his opponent with a 109 break to win the match, 2-1 to go through to the quarter-finals. Similarly in his match against Rex Williams, Bill Werbenuik was plagued with a convulsion in his hands, calmed down his copious pints of Holstein. It was a match that he should have won, a high standard by all accounts but Bill leading 57 points in the last frame, broke down and let a determined Williams in with Rex winning the match on the black. Rex went on to lose to John Spencer in the semi-final, 2-6 and Spencer was joined by Graham Miles in the final after he beat Alex Higgins, 6-3.
Back to the final and it looked like it was curtains for Graham Miles when Spencer took a 4-2 lead but then Miles fought back and won three frames in succession. The last two of the three, Graham led by 48 points to win on the black and a cross-double on the pink to lead 5-4. Miles then went 6-5 ahead, thanks to a 107 break and 7-6 with a break of 82. However Spencer levelled the match at 7-7. Graham had a chance to come back in the fifteenth frame after John missed the blue and left it in the jaws of the locks and the pink and black in open play. However Miles couldn’t take advantage and fell away, letting John take the next five frames to win the final, 11-7. Spencer had a chance in the penultimate frame for a maximum but missed a red to the middle pocket when he was on a 96 break. With £11,800 in the prize fund, John Spencer was rewarded with £3,500 for his efforts.
The Draw ( Matches were won on the running aggregate points)
Last 16: Rex Williams v Bill Werbenuik 2-1
Cliff Thorburn v Doug Mountjoy 2-1
Dennis Taylor v Fred Davis 3-0
David Taylor v Perrie Mans 2-1
John Spencer v Patsy Fagan 2-1
Ray Reardon v Ray Edmonds 3-0
Graham Miles v John Pulman 3-0
Alex Higgins v Eddie Charlton 3-0
Quarter- final
Rex Williams v Ray Reardon 3-3 Aggregate score : 364-362
John Spencer v Cliff Thorburn 3-3 Aggregate score : 467-296
Graham Miles v Dennis Taylor 2-4
Alex Higgins v David Taylor 3-3 Aggregate score : 391-300
Semi-final
John Spencer v Rex Williams 6-2
Graham Miles v Alex Higgins 6-3
Final
John Spencer v Graham Miles 11-7
Summary
In summary, this was a short lived tournament but it clearly showcases the wealth of talent at the time of its staging. John Spencer was still a dominant force in an era where there was a clear rivalry between himself and Ray Reardon. Graham Miles also showed his brilliance as a player and has sadly been largely overlooked by the history books, a man who cued with his left eye and won Pot Black in 1974 and 1975 and reached the final of the 1974 World Championship, losing to Ray Reardon, 12-22 and the 1976 Masters, losing 3-7 to Ray Reardon.
