THE eleventh match for the championship of billiards took place on Monday night at St. James's Hall, in the presence of an audience more numerous and more enthusiastic than any that have assembled since the first great encounter between W. Cook and the veteran father of his present opponent. Probably in no other country would an assemblage of over 500 persons be found, each of whom are willing to sacrifice a guinea to see which of two men, by dint of practice, patience, and self-denial, had brought a game which at one time deserved to be called a mere bagatelle to rank almost as a science.
If billiards deserves to be called a science, it can certainly boast itself of being one of the most progressive. Certain is it that never in the history of the game has it been brought to such perfection as in the present day. Indeed, so marvellous is the play, and so astounding are the breaks occasionally made, that the match for the championship has to be played on a table different from the ordinary one, where a thousand up has been very nearly made by one of last Monday's contestants in one break alone. On a championship table, therefore, the width of the pockets is limited to a breadth of three inches at the fall. The position of the red ball is altered, it being placed half an inch nearer the top cushion. The size, too, of the D in baulk is different, a diameter of twenty-one inches, in distinction to the usual one of twenty-three, considerably limiting the choice of spotting the ball when in hand.
The smaller St. James's Hall was, as we have said, crowded to excess. The light on the table was admirable, unfortunately at the expense of the light in the room, which was so dark that it was with difficulty that we could take notes.
The game commenced at 7.48, Cook giving the usual miss, and Roberts following suit. Cook was the first to score, but failed to make more than 6, whereupon Roberts replied with a fine break of 37, calling forth loud applause on the part of his friends. Two small breaks brought Roberts up to 60 to Cook's 12, and on the latter making 5, Roberts made another good break of 32, thus reaching 90 to Cook's 17. Here, however, Cook began to play better, making two breaks of 21 and 22 in succession, breaking down in the last stroke with a foul, which was claimed by Roberts and allowed by Harry Evans, the referee. Caution was decidedly the order of the day.
Roberts, on reaching 95 to Cook's 60, gave four misses in succession, from three of which Cook failed to score. Roberts had, however, in one break scored 29 and in another 32, before he gave his miss, and thus reached 157 to Cook's 64, when the latter made 22, his best break up to this point of the game. Roberts, however, here failed to score three times in succession, while Cook made three consecutive breaks of 4, 18, and 40, and thus reached 149 to Roberts' 157. The latter then made 2, and soon after followed with 26, when Cook made 33, thus reaching 182 to Roberts' 185; on Roberts scoring 6 Cook made 22, thus reaching the 200 before his opponent, and being much cheered for so doing. A further break of 25 from Cook soon after brought him still further ahead, as he reached 234 to Roberts' 199, when the latter, by means of 2, just turned the 200. Both players now played very carefully, neither making any breaks worthy of notice. Roberts reached 211 to Cook's 256, when the latter made 19 and Roberts replied with 20; Cook then made 27 and Roberts 9, the game being Cook 302, Roberts 240; Cook's turning tine third hundred so much in advance being much cheered by his admirers. Roberts however, seemed throughout the game to play best when behind. A 26 break soon lessened the lead, which, however, Cook soon after increased by a fine break of 39, which brought him to 360 to Roberts' 271, or 89 ahead. Here Roberts starting with a lucky stroke, followed on with a break of 22, and immediately after with one of 48 which latter break, composed almost entirely of losing hazards in the middle pocket off the red ball, brought him within 31 points of his opponent.
Several misses for safety were now played by both players, terminating in a break of 15 by Roberts who soon after reached 363 to Cook's 377, by means of 4 scored off a miss of Cook's, in which the white ball failed to go into baulk as was intended; Roberts, on reaching 388 to Cook's 424, gave three misses in succession, but soon after, off a miss for safety given by Cook, made a break of 36, which brought him once again ahead, the game being Cook 426, Roberts 427. For some time after this the play continued painfully slow, and the crowded audience began evidently to look forward to the interval. At 436 Cook made a break of 28, which brought him to 464 to Roberts's 472, and in his next break of 34 he again passed Roberts, the 472 all of the marker being loudly cheered. Soon after this Cook turned the first half of the game 27 in advance of his antagonist, as, the game being called Cook 505, Roberts 478, the long-looked-for interval ensued, the time up to this point occupied being 1 hour 52 min.
The play after the interval, as seems to be invariably the case, was far quicker than before. Up to the present point of the game there had been in all 67 innings, and it will be seen that 43 more completed the game. On resuming play Cook scored 2 and Roberts 5. Soon after, however, Roberts made a good break of 43, which again brought him to the fore, as the score stood Roberts 534, Cook 509. The latter, however, nothing daunted, immediately made 29, thus getting again 4 in advance.
Loud applause always followed each occasion on which the men passed and repassed one another.
Soon after the marker called the game 550 all. This part of the game was perhaps the most interesting, as each player had warmed to his work and was playing excellently. Three breaks close together, 45, 42, and 29, and a few smaller ones, brought Roberts to 682, while Cook had, in the meantime, by two good breaks of 54 and 52, and a few other trifling ones, reached 718. At this point of the game Roberts, playing for a cannon, missed it and ran in; this fluke was attended with serious consequences to Cook, as Roberts, by its means, commenced what proved to be the break of the evening, viz., 85, thus passing Cook for the last time, never again being caught. For some time after this Cook had but few chances, the balls breaking very unkindly. On the other hand, Roberts seemed encouraged by his success on reaching 787 to Cook's 746; another fine break of 51 brought him nearly 100 ahead, shortly after which another good break of 34 brought him over the 100. A 25 break from Cook here brought him to 782 to Roberts's 888. From this period Cook struggled gamely on. On reaching 817 he succeeded in scoring 38, but the balls continued to break badly for him. He succeeded in reaching 865, when Roberts had got 969, whereupon the latter ran out with a break of 31. Thus Roberts wins the eleventh match for the championship by 135 points, thus being level with Cook, as they have met in the championship six times, and each player has won three games.
The match was played on one of the most beautiful, or, as our contemporary the Standard calls it, the most "splendid" table we have ever witnessed. On this occasion it was the turn of Messrs. Burroughes and Watts to supply the table, and they certainly produced one worthy of themselves and of the occasion. It is composed of light oak and English pollard oak, the contrast having a most beautiful effect. The pattern is, perhaps, somewhat difficult to describe. Were, however, it to be placed in one of those fine oak-panelled rooms that are to be met with in some of those old country houses of the Elizabethan order of architecture which adorn some of our counties, it would be the right thing in the right place.
The whole time occupied in the match was 3 hours 24 minutes. Harry Evans acted as referee, and Oxford Jonathan scored the game in his well-known sonorous tones.
Highest Breaks:—Roberts, 85; Cook, 54.