BILLIARDS TOUR IS PROVING A SUCCESS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18940, 10 December 1929, Page 3

BILLIARDS TOUR IS PROVING A SUCCESS.

WALTER LINDRUM AND THE CHAMPIONSHIP. Since the arrival of Walter Lindrum and Clark M’Conachy in England, greater interest than ever has been taken in the competitive side of billiards and it is evident already that the tour will be a big success. Lindrum has impressed the Scottish public by his wonderful ability, and particularly by the rapidity with which he scores. He had so much of the play in the early part of his pen ing match with M’Conachy that the New Zealand champion did not have much chance of showing his prowess, but immediately he did so there /as no question of the great improvement he has developed since he was last in the British Isles. All those who have seen the cwo players are convinced of the great possibilities of a dramatic struggle for the world’s title. Although nothing has been decided yet, it is assumed that soth Lindrum and M’Conachy will uvenfcu ally challenge for the title, but as this is not played for until the spring, there is plenty of time for them to test the real strength of their chances with the best that can be placed in the field against them. The constant change from place to place must be necessarily a handicap to any touring player until he has become thoroughly acclimatised to the conditions, but when they have eally settled down there is very little doubt that they will be able to show what tremendously powerful players thev are. The Quickest Scorer. The scoring ability of the nodern professional player is so pronounced that the decision of the Billiards Coun cil to play the championship by time instead of by a given number oi points up is welcomed. It will provide a sounder test of the relative merits of the leading players and is almost.certriii to result in some very heavy scoring. On the form he displayed in his opening match, .here can be little doubt that Lindrum scores as quickly as any of his English rivals, and one’s own impression is that he is not only the fastest scorer of the present time, but the quickest the game has ever seen. This does not mean that he is -er tain to win the championship. for these games are almost certain to be most keenly fought and he safety side will play a prominent, and possibly a decisive part. Temperament, indeed, is a factor which has to be taken into consideration in all of these big but there is no reason to suppose chat either Lindrum or M’Conachy will fail in this respect. The English players may be more experienced as some of them have had many strenuous contests in the past, and it has been shown that it is altogether a different game when a player is forced to make openings for himself and when a match is a test of technical intelligence as much as of playing and scoring ability. Lindrum has developed the top of the table game and the nursery can non phase to such a high standard that he has no superior in these de partments of the game. His close cannon play particularly has created a deep impression, in spite of the fact

that there are English players like Newman and Falkiner who are really brilliant exponents of the method of scoring. Lindrum is assisted in this phase of the game by a remarkable sense of control when he is making a series of kiss cannons in the course of a long run. and it is obvious that he has perfected this form of play in a manner which will be utilised to a great extent. No phase of the game is more popular with the pub.ic as it is the most difficult form of play among amateurs. The delicacy and intricacies of a‘ movement of this kind help to show how far the professional player is in advance of the amateur, but this is one of the reasons why the game is so popular. It is estimated that in the British Isles there are more people vho play billiards than any other game, and the tour is certain to bring even more devotees to the game. Davis the professional champion, has shown some verj' good form alread3’, and he has

beaten his old opponent, Newman, twice in games of a fortnight’s duration, but only by a narrow margin each time. The second of these matches was remarkable for the closeness of the finish, as Davis was successful by only 50 points—clear proof of the even character of the play On the final day of the match Davis made a break of 966, a brilliant all-round exhibition of the game and beating for the time being the run of 910 made by Lindrum in the opening stages of his first match. The return of Falkiner to the game has been specially welcomed, for he is recognised as being one of the finest of the English players, when he is in his best form. It is obvious that th« championship will be more difficult to win this .season than ever before as there are six players who can be rated as potential champions, ex’ery one of whom will be extremely difficult to beat.