1979 Holsten Lager International

The 1979 Holsten Lager International was a non-ranking snooker tournament held on one occasion in January 1979 in Slough, England.

Holsten Lager International

Tournament information
Dates	14–17 January 1979 (1979-01-14 – 1979-01-17)
Venue	Fulcrum Centre
City	Slough
Country	England
Organisation	WPBSA
Format	Non-ranking event
Winner's share	£3,500
Highest break	John Spencer (147)
Final
Champion	John Spencer
Runner-up	Graham Miles
Score	11–7

The tournament had an unusual format. There were sixteen players in a straight knockout but the first round was decided by aggregate scores over four frames and the second by aggregate over six frames. The semi finals and final were ‘Best of 11’ and ‘Best of 21’ respectively.

The quarter final between John Spencer and Cliff Thorburn is how the event is best remembered. In the afternoon session, Spencer made the first ever 147 in a professional tournament. As it was the afternoon, the TV cameras were not running and the pockets were not measured to check conformity, so the break was never officially ratified for record purposes. Spencer went on to beat Graham Miles 11–7 in the final.[1]