BILLIARDS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXI, Issue 18973, 26 March 1924, Page 6

BILLIARDS

ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIP A FARCICAL POSITION. LONDON, Feb. 7. The professional billiard players have made a farce of the championship (comments the London correspondent of the Christchurch Star, writing under date February 7). Ever since the war there has been trouble between them and the governing authorities as to the conditions under which the event should be decided, but this year there was a joint conference, and it was thought hat all differences had been settled. Smith, the champion, proposed that the entrance fee should be £2OO for each competitor. Ho frankly declared that he wanted to shut out the man who had not a reasonable chance of winning. Though this proposal was against the best interests of the game, the auhoriies, .in order to satisfy Smith, who was backed by Newman and Inman in a lukewarm manner accepted it. Judge the astonishment when, on the time for entry having passed, only three men had sent in their names. These were Newman, the New Zealander, Clark McConachy, and the veteran Tom Reece, who cabled his entry from India. What had happened in the case of Smith and Inman? Smith’s entry was received two —ours after the closing time, and with that was the condition that he should not be called on to play until after a certain date, though he had been a party to fixing the dates for the different matches in the first place. Inman did not enter at all. The champion has since issued a long statement io explain the lateness of his etry. He was playing at Cardiff at the time, and, when he posted tlie letter, he was told by the postal authorities that it would reach London in time. But why had ho left it to the last minute? It seems that, when the championship was due to begin, he had fixed up a contract with Inman for a match in Sheffield, and that the latter would not release him from it without “reasonble campensation.” Of course, Smith’s entry was not accepted, and he will not defend his title. So there is no interest left in the championship. Newman was the only possible opponent who might have beaten the champion, unless McConachy has improved out of all knowledge since his last visit to this country. At the same time, neither McConachy nor Reece can extend Newman, and his victory is a foregone conclusion. Newman ard McConachy will meet in the first round and the winner will play Reece for the title.