The 1980 Women's World Open was a women's

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...

tournament that took place in May 1980 at Warners Sinah Warren Holiday Camp,

Hayling Island Hayling Island is an island off the south coast of England, in the borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, east of Portsmouth. History An Iron Age shrine in the north of Hayling Island was later developed into a Roman temple in the 1st c ...

, organised by the

Women's Billiards Association The Women's Billiards Association (WBA), founded in 1931 and based in London, United Kingdom, was the governing body for women's English billiards and snooker, and organised the Women's Professional Billiards Championship and Women's Professi ...

and sponsored by

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. It is recognised as the 1980 edition of the

World Women's Snooker Championship The World Women's Snooker Championship (formerly known as the Women's World Open Championship from 1976 to 1981 and the World Ladies Snooker Championship from 1983 to 2018) is the leading tournament on the World Women's Snooker Tour. The reigning ...

first held in

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Lesley McIlrath Lesley McIlrath is an Australian former snooker player. She won the Women's World Open Championship in 1980. Career McIlrath was, with Fran Lovis, one of two of the dominant players in Australian snooker in the 1970s and 1980s. The 1980 W ...

defeated

Agnes Davies Agnes Davies, born Agnes Morris, (30 September 1920 – 13 February 2011) was a Welsh snooker and billiards player. She was known for having a competitive playing career spanning 64 years, during which she won the Women's Professional Snooker ...

4–2 in the final to win the title, receiving £700 prize money as champion. Davies received £350 as runner-up. This was the first championship to be held since the inaugural event in 1976, and attracted 46 entrants. Defending champion

Vera Selby Vera Selby MBE (born 13 March 1930) is an English former snooker and English billiards player. She won the Women's World Open Championship twice, in both 1976 and 1981. She was also the Women's Billiards champion from 1970 to 1978. Career S ...

was beaten 2–3 in the quarter-finals by Ann Johnson. Davies, who had won the

Women's Professional Snooker Championship The Women's Professional Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament run from 1934 to 1950 by the Women's Billiards Association. The event was the world championship for female players during this time. Ruth Harrison was the most successful pl ...

in 1949, reached the final by beating

Natalie Stelmach Natalie Stelmach (1957/1958 – 8 July 2011) was a Canadian snooker player. She was runner-up in the 1984 Amateur World Women's Snooker Championship. Biography Stelmach started playing in 1973, at a newly established family recreation centre. ...

3–0 in the semi-final. McIlrath was the only world women's snooker championship winner from outside the United Kingdom until

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Main Draw

References

{{World Women's Snooker Championship 1980 in English sport 1980 in snooker 1980 in women's sport May 1980 sports events in the United Kingdom International sports competitions hosted by England World Women's Snooker Championship