The News of the World Championship was the premium snooker tournament of the 1950s and widely considered as being more important than the world championship

World Snooker Championship

The World Snooker Championship is the leading professional snooker tournament in terms of both prize money and ranking points. The first championship was held in 1927; since 1977, it has been played at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England...

 due to the involvement of Joe Davis

Joe Davis

Joe Davis, OBE was a British professional player of snooker and English billiards....

.

History

One of the leading post-war professional tournaments, the event was sponsored by the Sunday newspaper News of the World

News of the World

The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...

and carried a £1,500 prize money. The event was first held at the Leicester Square

Leicester Square

Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west...

 Hall in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, where it remained until its disestablishment. The event was played on a round-robin basis. All tournaments used a handicap system, as Joe Davis

Joe Davis

Joe Davis, OBE was a British professional player of snooker and English billiards....

 deemed superior and his opponents were given 20 points per .

Winners

Year	Winner	Runner-up	Season
1950	Joe Davis Joe Davis Joe Davis, OBE was a British professional player of snooker and English billiards....	Sidney Smith	n/a
1951	Alec Brown	John Pulman John Pulman John Pulman was an English professional snooker player who dominated the game throughout the 1960s....	n/a
1952	Sidney Smith	Albert Brown	n/a
1953	Joe Davis Joe Davis Joe Davis, OBE was a British professional player of snooker and English billiards....	Jackie Rea Jackie Rea Jack 'Jackie' Rea is a retired snooker player from Northern Ireland.Rea was born in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland...	n/a
1954	John Pulman John Pulman John Pulman was an English professional snooker player who dominated the game throughout the 1960s....	Joe Davis Joe Davis Joe Davis, OBE was a British professional player of snooker and English billiards....	n/a
1955	Jackie Rea Jackie Rea Jack 'Jackie' Rea is a retired snooker player from Northern Ireland.Rea was born in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland...	Joe Davis Joe Davis Joe Davis, OBE was a British professional player of snooker and English billiards....	n/a
1956	Joe Davis Joe Davis Joe Davis, OBE was a British professional player of snooker and English billiards....	Fred Davis	n/a
1957	John Pulman John Pulman John Pulman was an English professional snooker player who dominated the game throughout the 1960s....	Fred Davis	n/a
1958	Fred Davis	John Pulman John Pulman John Pulman was an English professional snooker player who dominated the game throughout the 1960s....	n/a
1959	Fred Davis	Joe Davis Joe Davis Joe Davis, OBE was a British professional player of snooker and English billiards....	n/a