CHAMPIONSHIP OF PYRAMIDS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3942, 5 October 1874, Page 3

CHAMPIONSHIP OF PYRAMIDS.

The first match for this championship was played last night (says a late English paper) at the Guildhall Tavern. Gresham street, the two competitors being W. Cook and J. Roberts, juii., who, in addition to the honour of being the first to win the beautiful silver challenge shield, presented by Messrs Burroughes and Watts, the well-known billiard-table makers, had the additional stimulus of a £100 stake, one of the conditions of the championship being that the holder of '.he prize is bound to accept all challenges for a sum of not less than £50 a side. Probably one interesting result of the establishment of this championship will be the determining of the point whether the best billiard players are necessarily the best pyramid players. There can be no doubt whatever that the two who competed last night arc incomparably the best players at ordinary billiards, but there are one or two names that "might be mentioned, who, though probably not withiii 500 in a 1000 in the ordinary game, would yet find backers evon in a pvramiil match with either Cook or Roberts. For instance, " Richards," who, though far inferior to bis younger brother "Stanley" at billiards, has already boen backed to play, and very nearly succeeded in beating, W. Cook level at pyramids. It will, however, probably be found tliat success at either gamo is merely a matter of practice. The reason why among amateurs it is often the case that they play" pool or pyramids far better in compari-on than they do billiards is that for one game of the latter they play a hundred games of the former. In the play last night the hnztrd striking was simply magnificent; still we cannot but express our surprise that, both players of such judgment should make the extraordinary mistake of playing for a hazard when the game was at the point of six to eight, as it is evident that by putting a ball in the game is lost, but by playing to angle the white there is still a chance left of winning. Cook won tho championship with one gamo to spare, his greatest break being that of nine balls, Roberts's largest break' being one of seven. Cook played the most cautiously, though for extraordinary hazards perhaps Roberts bears the palm. Tlie want of caution we have mentioned is the more extraordinary, considering that a stake of £100 depended on the game besides the honour.

Should any player such as we have mentioned, i.e., one who is essentially a pyramid player, arise, who will challenge and defeat the winner, it is, in our opinion, only necessary for Roberts or Cook to leave off billiards for a month or two altogether, and to play nothing but pyramids, to ensure to himself an easy revenge. Should he, however, do this and fail, we would recommend his opponent, whoever he may be, on the other hand, to devote himself for a few months to billiards only, and to try and win tho still more splendid trophy presented by the leading bil-liard-table makers for the championship of what is undoubtedly the superior game, viz., billii-rds.