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.

Main draw

	Last 16 Aggregate score (4 frames)					Quarter-finals Aggregate score (6 frames)					Semi-finals Best of 11 frames					Final Best of 21 frames
	John Spencer		206
	Patsy Fagan		185
						John Spencer		467
						Cliff Thorburn		296
	Cliff Thorburn		206
	Doug Mountjoy		110
											John Spencer		6
											Rex Williams		2
	Rex Williams		180
	Bill Werbeniuk		166
						Rex Williams		364
						Ray Reardon		362
	Ray Reardon		221
	Ray Edmonds		112
																John Spencer		11
																Graham Miles		7
	Graham Miles		235
	John Pulman		118
						Graham Miles		395
						Dennis Taylor		340
	Dennis Taylor		217
	Fred Davis		151
											Graham Miles		6
											Alex Higgins		3
	Alex Higgins		233
	Eddie Charlton		138
						Alex Higgins		391
						David Taylor		300
	David Taylor		241
	Perrie Mans		182