The 1969 Pot Black event was the first edition of the professional invitational snooker tournament, which was broadcast in July, August and September 1969. This first recording of Pot Black took place at the BBC TV Studios in Gosta Green, Birmingham, a converted turn-of-the-century cinema. Later it was recorded at the new Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingham which replaced the Gosta Green Studios. The event featured eight professional players. All matches were one-frame shoot-outs.

1969 Pot Black
Tournament information
Dates23 July – 10 September 1969 (1969-07-23 – 1969-09-10) (broadcast)
VenueBBC Studios
CityBirmingham
CountryEngland
OrganisationWPBSA
FormatNon-ranking event
Highest breakWales Ray Reardon (99)
Final
ChampionWales Ray Reardon
Runner-upEngland John Spencer
Score88–29
← First
1970

Broadcasts were on BBC2, starting with an introductory programme at 8:50 pm on Wednesday 23 July 1969.[1] The first match, between John Spencer and Jackie Rea, was broadcast on 30 July,[2] followed by weekly broadcasts until the final on 10 September.[3] The programmes were presented by Keith Macklin with Ted Lowe as the commentator.

Ray Reardon won the event, beating John Spencer 88–29 in the one-frame final, and received the BBC2 Pot Black Trophy.[4]

Main draw

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Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
  John Spencer 1
  Jackie Rea 0   John Spencer 1
  Rex Williams 0   Kingsley Kennerley 0
  Kingsley Kennerley 1   John Spencer 0
  John Pulman 1   Ray Reardon 1
  Gary Owen 0   John Pulman 0
  Fred Davis 0   Ray Reardon 1
  Ray Reardon 1

References

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  1. ^ "BBC Television – 23 July 1969 – Pot Black". BBC Genome Project. BBC. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  2. ^ "BBC Television – 30 July 1969 – Pot Black". BBC Genome Project. BBC. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  3. ^ "BBC Television – 10 September 1969 – Pot Black: BBC2 Knockout Snooker Competition". BBC Genome Project. BBC. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  4. ^ "CueTracker - 1969 Pot Black - Snooker Results & Statistics Database".