John Spencer won the title, defeating Gary Owen by achieving a winning margin at 37 frames to 24 in the final.

Spencer had earlier eliminated defending champion John Pulman from the competition, in the quarter-finals.

The quarter-finals and semi-finals were staged at several venues in England from 18 November 1968 until 22 February 1969, and the final was held at Victoria Hall in London from 17 to 22 March 1969.

[1] The sport was developed in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India.

[10] Pulman had been touring snooker clubs as promotional work for the tobacco brand John Player, and the company had sponsored his 1968 match against Eddie Charlton.

[18] Defending champion Pulman was drawn to meet Spencer, who had recently defeated him 14–17 in a non-title challenge match.

[19] The first match, played from 18 to 22 November 1968 at the Wryton Stadium in Bolton, saw the end of Pulman's reign as champion, when he was defeated by Spencer.

[23] Spencer led 24–18 after the final afternoon session and clinched the match by winning the first frame in the evening with what was reported in The Times as a "magnificent 97 break".

[32][33] The match featured lengthy tactical exchanges between the players, resulting in some of the longest sessions ever to take place in world championship history to that point.

[36][37] The second semi final, between Owen and Davis, was held at the Wolstanton Miners Club, Stoke-on-Trent, from 17 to 22 February.

[43] Spencer took a 6–2 lead, before Owen levelled the match at 6–6, having made the first day's highest break of 80 in the 9th frame.

The Birmingham Daily Post correspondent praised the players for bringing a "refreshing new look to the game, with bold attacking play, wonderful potting, and a sprinkling of good-sized breaks".

[45][46] The third day's play, which featured only two breaks of 50 or more, was described in the Coventry Evening Telegraph as "undistinguished", and ended with Spencer still six frames ahead, at 21–15.

[46] Snooker historian Clive Everton commented that although Spencer only recorded a small number of breaks above 60, "in every other respect, the new champion's display was a revelation.

His long potting, his prodigious screw shots even when cue-ball and object-ball were seven or eight feet apart, his uninhibited use of side, his bright attacking style, even the mere fact that here was a bright new face, made Spencer's win a memorable one.