1976 World Amateur Snooker Championship

The 1976 World Amateur Snooker Championship was the seventh edition of the tournament also known as the IBSF World Snooker Championship. The 1976 tournament was played in Johannesburg from 12 to 30 October 1976. Doug Mountjoy defeated Paul Mifsud 11–1 in the final to win the title.

1976 World Amateur Snooker Championship

Tournament information
Dates	12 – 30 October 1976
Venue	President Hotel
City	Johannesburg
Country	South Africa
Organisation(s)	Billiards and Snooker Control Council, International Billiards and Snooker Federation
Format	Round-robin and knockout
Highest break	Doug Mountjoy (WAL), 107
Final
Champion	Doug Mountjoy (WAL)
Runner-up	Paul Mifsud (MLT)
Score	11–1
← 1974 1978 →

Tournament summary

The first World Amateur Snooker Championship was held in 1963.[1] The defending champion for 1976 was Ray Edmonds, who had won the tournament in 1972 and 1974.[2] The 1976 tournament was held at the President Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa, from 12 to 30 October 1976, with 24 participants playing in three eight-player round-robin groups followed by a knockout to determine the champion.[2] Apartheid was in force in South Africa, and following the advice of their respective governments, players from India and Sri Lanka did not take part in the competition.[3]

Doug Mountjoy was the only player to win all of his group matches.[4] Edmonds lost the title when he was defeated 1–5 by Paul Mifsud in the quarter-finals. In another of the quarter-finals, Silvino Francisco eliminated his brother Manuel Francisco 5–1.[5] The final was contested by Mountjoy and Mifsud, with Mountjoy taking a 6–0 lead by the end of the first session and completing an 11–1 victory in the second session on 29 October, meaning that the scheduled session for 30 October was not required.[6]

Mountjoy compiled the highest break of the tournament, 107, during the group stage.[7][1]

Qualifying groups

The final tables are shown below. Players in bold qualified for the next round.[1]

Group A

Player	MW	FW	FL	Break
Doug Mountjoy (WAL)	7	28	9	107
Jimmy van Rensberg (RSA)	5	24	16	72
Ray Edmonds (ENG)	4	20	18	77
Norman Stockman (NZL)	4	21	19	45
Eddie Sinclair (SCO)	4	21	21	51
Pascal Burke (IRE)	2	17	25	48
Johan van Niekerk (RSA)	1	17	27	35
Peter Reynolds (IOM)	1	14	27	46

Group B

Player	MW	FW	FL	Break
Paul Mifsud (MLT)	6	25	9	47
Silvino Francisco (RSA)	6	27	12	68
Terry Griffiths (WAL)	5	23	14	69
Chris Ross (ENG)	4	19	17	58
Robert Paquette (CAN)	4	22	22	72
Eddie Swaffield (NIR)	1	16	26	59
Leon Heywood (AUS)	1	13	27	46
Larry Watson (IRE)	1	9	27	45

Group C

Player	MW	FW	FL	Break
Manuel Francisco (RSA)	6	27	12	62
Ron Atkins (AUS)	6	25	12	45
Roy Andrewartha (ENG)	5	25	14	100
Jimmy Clint (NIR)	4	17	18	33
Bert Demarco (SCO)	3	21	21	75
Bernie Mikkelsen (CAN)	3	19	22	60
Kelvin Tristram (NZL)	1	9	27	46
Roy Cowley (IOM)	0	11	28	41

Knockout

Players in bold denote match winners.[1]

Elimination Match Best of 7 frames
Player	Score	Player
Terry Griffiths (WAL)	4–0	Roy Andrewartha (ENG)

	Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames					Semi-finals Best of 15 frames					Final Best of 21 frames
	Doug Mountjoy (WAL)		5
	Ron Atkins (AUS)		1
						Doug Mountjoy (WAL)		8
						Silvino Francisco (RSA)		2
	Silvino Francisco (RSA)		5
	Manuel Francisco (RSA)		1
											Doug Mountjoy (WAL)		11
											Paul Mifsud (MLT)		1
	Jimmy van Rensberg (RSA)		5
	Terry Griffiths (WAL)		3
						Jimmy van Rensberg (RSA)		4
						Paul Mifsud (MLT)		8
	Paul Mifsud (MLT)		5
	Ray Edmonds (ENG)		1

Final

Scores in bold indicate winning frame scores.[6]

Final: Best of 21 frames. Johannesburg, 29 October 1976
Doug Mountjoy	11–1	Paul Mifsud
First session: 76–18; 80–21; 79–21; 86–36; 109(62)-20; 80–18 Second session: 25–71; 82–24; 85–29; 73–29; 67–48; 84–28

References

1. Everton, Clive (1981). The Guinness Book of Snooker. Enfield: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. pp. 150–153. ISBN 0851122302.
2. Everton, Clive (7 October 1976). "Record for amateur". The Guardian. London. p. 16.
3. Everton, Clive (5 November 1976). "Joy is blackballed by South Africans". The Guardian. London. p. 18.
4. Everton, Clive (26 October 1976). "Mountjoy is favourite". The Guardian. London. p. 22.
5. "Snooker champ loses". Calgary Herald. 27 October 1976. p. 86.
6. Everton, Clive (30 October 1976). "Mountjoy's world title". The Guardian. London. p. 16.
7. Morrison, Ian (1989). Snooker: records, facts and champions. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 131. ISBN 0851123643.