T. Yesberg’s Rare Double

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30539, 7 September 1964, Page 8

T. Yesberg’s Rare Double

In a magnificent exhibition of controlled snooker T. Yesberg (Canterbury) beat L. Glozier (Southland) by 4 frames to 2, to win the New Zealand title in Christchurch on Saturday night. The winner of the billiards championship the previous week, Yesberg is the second man to achieve the billiards-snooker double in the same year. L. Stout (Wellington) won this double in 1952. The match was a test of experience against sheer potting skill. The Southland youngster put up a magnificent performance, and had he not gone in off the black in the fifth frame the result—with frames level—-could have gone the other way. With the experience gained in this tournament Glogier will be a much more formidable opponent next year. In the first frame the Southlander was slow to gain confidence in his potting. Yesberg in three shots opened up a commanding lead of 19 points to 0, only to see this advantage diminish to a One point deficit three shots later. From this stage the lead fluctuated until, with four balls left on the table, Glozier held a narrow lead of one point, placing the emphasis on the blue. Yesberg was equal to the occasion, potting the brown and blue, then “fluking” the pink to take the frame.

Glozier jumped out quickly in the second frame and, using his skill to advantage, held a lead of 15 with one red remaining on the table. Yesberg made full use of his billiards ability with this ball, winning four points from a

snooker, six points from a free ball, and then four points with the red and green. With 27 points remaining on the table, the Canterbury player still trailed by nine. Glozier, fully aware that a deficit of two frames was a large hurdle potted the yellow, green, brown and blue, to level the frames at one each. The third frame was all Yesberg’s. Glozier did have a slim chance of winning, when he required the blue, pink and black to win, but was never given an opportunity to display his prowess. Glozier retaliated beautifully in frame four, holding such a clear advantage that the Canterbury exponent conceded the frame with one red still left on the table. This move could well have been an unwise one. It did little to assist Yesberg in regaining his confidence with safe play, and at the same time left Glozier full of confidence for the final frame.

But Yesberg established a good lead in the final frame and was ahead by 20 points with a possible 22 left on the table. Glozier made a remarkable recovery, potting the brown, blue and pink, then, to his horror, missed a straight poke on the black. Three shots later he was even more horrified, when he went in off the black to trail two frames to three.

His play in the next frame was obviously below his best; and although he produced a sterling effort, the task was beyond his capabilities. The final score was Yesberg 4 (49, 41. 52, 2, 59, 57), Glozier 2 (35, 64, 44. 51, 51, 26). In the semi-final games, Glozier beat W. Cullen, 4-1, and Yesberg beat K. Tristram by the same margin.