BILLIARDS

Evening Star, Issue 16993, 15 March 1919, Page 1

BILLIARDS

« The last English championship was held m 1914 at the HoJborn Hail, when Mel- ; bourne Inmaii won, defeating Reece, who [ had previously beaten Gray and Stevenson. j Tlie present championship is being held ;at Thurston'< Hal!, the holder, Inman, \ much to his dissatisfaction, having to play I through the preliminary heats. Newman, j Falkmer, 'Recce, and Stevenson are the other competitors, Darlington Smith bein<* unable to play owing to illness. So far : as the cabled results go fand they are exI tremely unsatisfactory, in that no final ; rosuks of the heats have been 'H. _ 7::-"-'*i t ■•••7 appear to be showing the best form. A commencement was made at the Commercial Travellers' Club last night with the "Gold Star" tournament. Mr A. P. .i.,C;:..',-.ii Ji;.<_'aU;U -'j:' j. l'oilocii. Uy OiJ ; points in a game of 250 up. An attempt is now being made to arrange a markers' tournament in Anckland on the lines of similar events in Melbourne and Sydney. It is proposed to make it a handicap event for substantial money prizes. The agitation in certain English circles to limit the losing hazard off the red ball has died down, the authorities not failing to notice that the attack on this method of ! scoring was coming from players insaffiI cieiitly accurate to compile breaks in this way. Other authorities hold that the whole table should be utilised in play in- | stead of the narrow strip at the spot end j covered by the t':p-of-table gair.e. The leading British amateurs recently ! held a' big tournament on behalf of war j funds, and a dead heat, resulted between j W. Grafk, W. E. Forster, and Lieutenant I A. Croneen (Scottish ehamnifjft) with four : wins each. The highest breaks were 136 i by Croneen and 102 by Forster.