A project that is likely to be attended by the happiest results has been matured by Messrs. Burroughes and Watts in connection with their forthcoming annual £1,000 Professional Tournament. The famous players already selected for this tournament, which will commence in October, are Inman, Diggle, Reece, Aiken, and W. Smith—the last named being the young Darlington player who "made by force his merit known" last season by beating George Gray four times and by making against T. Newman a break of 736, the season's record for any player with ivory balls.
But there are other "junior" players, so far as either years or place in the profession is concerned, besides Smith, and it is in order to encourage these and to give them an opportunity of displaying their genius or gifts with the best that the promoters of the Soho Square Tournament have decided to have a series of qualifying heats, the winner of which (and possibly the runner-up also) will enter the classic circle by right of victory.
The draw for this preliminary tournament (which will be conducted mainly on the "knock-out" principle) is:—
Each heat will consist of 2,000 up (500 at each of four sessions) and play will proceed over a period of five weeks.
To avoid byes the three survivors of the two preliminary heats will play each other a game of 4,000 points, and to this extent the American, rather than" the knock-out principle, will be adopted.
The heats will be contested under B.C.C. rules and ivory balls will be used.