The UK Open Billiards Championship, formerly known as the United Kingdom Professional English Billiards Championship, is an English billiards tournament, first contested in 1934. Joe Davis won the inaugural UK Professional English Billiards Championship title with a 18,745–18,309 defeat of Tom Newman. The tournament was originally organised by the Billiards Association and Control Council (BA&CC). After a dispute over a world championship challenge match, the Professional Billiard Players Association (PBPA) — which had been re-established in 1968 by reigning world billiards champion Rex Williams and seven other players – disaffiliated from the BA&CC. The PBPA changed its name to the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) in 1970, and declared itself the governing body for the professional games of snooker and English billiards.