Stroke Domination in Billiards
EVERY lover of billiards is under an obligation to Mr. W. J. Peall, who has been good enough, when past his eightieth birthday, to put pen to paper to favour us with his views on the important subject of stroke domination in billiards. It is very curious that a game offering an infinite variety of strokes with three balls on the table should offer such devastating opportunities to skilled exponents of what looks like repetition play, no matter how clever it may be. The "lineshot" is the latest endeavour to cope with this, but "the end is not yet."
We are pleased to accompany this article with a series of diagrams of the spot-stroke, which Mr. W. J. Peall handled as he alone could when making his record break of 3,304, which included runs of 93, 3, 150, 123, 172, 120 and 400 spot-strokes.
—EDITOR.
THE question of altering the rules in such a manner as to prevent the spot-stroke, was considered by the ruling authorities.
They thought that before such an alteration was made it was fair to me that I should be given an opportunity to win, if I could, the Championship of the World at the game of English Billiards. A very handsome cup was put up for this purpose by The Billiard Association, the proprietors of the Sportsman, Sporting Life, and the Sporting Chronicle.
Eight players entered; Mitchell, Dawson, Charles Memmot (then, I believe, Champion of Australia), and four others. John Roberts Would not enter.
Mitchell, my most formidable opponent, and I won all our heats and met in the final. The game was 5,000 up, and I won by 3,245 points, going out with a break of 2,099 unfinished, thus becoming Champion of English billiards and winning the cup. I was never challenged for it, and it is now in my possession.
Roberts Invented Top-of-the-Table Play
Roberts had the foresight to see that the fact of one particular stroke dominating the game rendered it as an entertainment less attractive.
He therefore developed the top-of-the-table game, which soon placed him beyond all question the greatest exponent of what was then called the spot-barred game. The new players Dawson and Stevens learnt much from Roberts and greatly lessened the gap between them and Roberts.
Roberts was then getting on in years and wisely retired the unbeaten champion of the spotbarred game.
Close-Cannons Overdone
Then came other players—Davis, Newman, Lindrum; they further developed the means of scoring by becoming remarkably proficient in nursery cannons. Now their great skill in this particular branch of the game has made the game—as the spot-stroke did—less entertaining because of the very large proportion of the scoring made by close cannons.
Unfortunately, to thoroughly appreciate the great skill required to keep the balls in position, one wants to be immediately behind the player.
Try it and see
It looks quite easy to see those great masters at work, but just try to make 20 or 30 cannons, and you will find how quickly they become irrecoverably misplaced. To keep the balls in position requires great delicacy of touch. It has been my privilege to stand over Lindrum, and I was charmed to notice the wonderful little tricks he employed, just a suspicion of side—a delicate kiss. At my table at home I tried, but failed. I suppose I am too old a dog to learn new tricks. That such masterly skill should be considered boring is most unfortunate.
It is possible in the near future something may be done to prevent such long sequences of cannons.
When I took up the game professionally, the spot-stroke was part of the game. Roberts, Cook, and others played it as well as they could, because it was the most formidable stroke in winning a game.
I naturally, knowing this, practised hard at this particular stroke, seeing that the only way to become champion was to become the best at this branch of the game. This I succeeded in doing and became champion.
Seeking a Master Stroke
It appears that through the history of billiards—I can go no farther than Kentfield—players have always sought some stroke or mode of scoring which would dominate.
John Roberts, senior, developed the spot stroke, and beat Kentfield; then William Cook further perfected this stroke and could beat Roberts, senior. These things have gone on— The spot stroke, losing-hazard off the red by Gray—then the top-of-the-table, now close cannons.
Willie Smith's break of 2,700 (a few points in excess of this I believe) in my mind stands out as one of the greatest achievements at billiards, because he made this without any particular stroke dominating.