The revival of the World Championship as a single-elimination tournament in 1969 saw Davis defeat future world champion Ray Reardon 25–24 before losing 37–24 to Gary Owen in the semi-finals. Davis's match with Reardon would earn a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest recorded snooker session and Reardon would later note that he learned more from that match than he had in the previous 20 years playing the sport. That same year BBC TV started its "Pot Black" series. Davis's familiarity with long matches contested over several weeks in his prime meant he was not immediately suited to the single-frame format of the event; however, he adapted well to it, finishing as runner-up to John Spencer in the 1971 series. He also achieved the highest in the 1970 (54), 1971 (73) and 1975 (87) series.