were no world championship matches until professional Rex Williams gained agreement from the BACC that the world championship would be staged on a challenge basis, with defending champion Pulman featuring in the first match. Pulman retained the title in several challenges from 1964 to 1968. The 1969 championship, when the tournament reverted to a knockout format, is regarded as the first of the modern snooker era, and was won by John Spencer. From 1972, the championship was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), which was the renamed PBPA. The defending champion was Ray Reardon, who defeated Eddie Charlton 38–32 in the 1973 final. Format The 1974 competition was promoted by Snooker Promotions, a company established by Peter West and Patrick Nally. The tournament was sponsored by tobacco brand Park Drive, with £10,000 prize money. This was the last time that Park Drive sponsored the event and there was no sponsor the following year. The venue was Belle Vue, Manchester. There were 31 entrants. A qualifying round was held on 11 April, and the main tournament was held from 16 to 25 April 1974, initially with concurrent play across eight different snooker tables, and two per day. The seven qualifiers and nine other players contested the first round matches, with winners from those matches each then meeting one of the eight players who had been exempted to the second round. Prize fund The winner of the event received £2,000 from a total prize fund of £10,000. The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below. Winner: £2,000 Runner-up: £1,200 Third: £800 Fourth: £750 Quarter-finalists: unknown Second round losers: unknown First round losers: £150 Tournament summary Qualifying A qualifying round was held on 11 April, with seven matches played as the best-of-15 frames; a seven-frame session followed by an eight-frame session. Former champion John Pulman whitewashed Jack Karnehm 8–0. Dennis Taylor won the first frame against Marcus Owen on a , but this was the only frame he won in the first session of seven frames. David Taylor, recovering from tonsilitis, won in the against Ron Gross. Warren Simpson, feeling ill from the effects of his diabetes, won seven consecutive frames from 1–3 against Jack Rea to progress. A report in Snooker Scene magazine described the general standard of play in the qualifying round as "disappointing". First round The first round matches were played as the