GREAT BILLIARD PLAYERS.

Evening Star, Issue 4179, 19 July 1876, Page 4

GREAT BILLIARD PLAYERS.

(From the Liverpool Porcupine.) The elder .Roberts was possessed oi great nerve, patience, and stamina. His love for the game of billiards was simply passionate : he devoted himself to it with a regard which was extraordinary ; he evolved every mystery of the game ; he discovered the capacities of the cue, the balls, the cushions, and the table ; he was as familiar with the angles of the table as our readers are with the alphabet;, gentle strengths and tremendous slashing shots were all the same to him. The rising players around him had nothing, to discover but everything to copy, and copy they did with' a vengeance, to Roberts's ultimate -discomfiture. All he required to enable him'to become a fast scorer wjs the continued vigor of youth ; but this passed away from him—he gotinto years and had to succumb to his juniors, just as the latter will have to do when'their turn comes. . Roberts as greatly surpassed Keritfield as Kentfiold surpassed Uarr. For more than twenty years it seemed as if no one would ever be *blo to equal Roberts. A nobleman writing to a. contemporary concerning, a celebrated match played some years ago in this town, warmly declared that not only was Roberts the finest player that ever was, but he was 'also the finest player that ever would -or could be. With our present experience we are . able-to see the absurdicy of this declaration ; but who could have supposed a Roberts twenty years before his time, or who could have supposed a Roberts, jun., or a .Cook, When this declaratioii was made? -„..'-'

The skill of the present champions is something marvellous. Th 6 ■largest breaks of the successive best players shows how continued and equable lias been the advance of skill since Carr’s time. Carr made a break of 86, which included 22 spot strokes. .Next came Bedford (of Brighton), whose largest break was 159. Kentheld’s largest break was 106 (57 spots, and 25 all-round play). The elder Roberts’s best was 346 (104 spots, 34 dll-round). Cook made several over ,500, two over 600, one of 753, and at last the unsurpassed 936 (289 spots, 69 all-round. Roberts, jun., put together breaks of 531, 558, 600, and 8.00 (153 spots, 341 all-round). Though' this break is smaller than Cook’s best, every

:billiard player will admit that it is ; tnuelv the bettor, because of the greater amount of all-round play. Amongst the many rising players is jTimbre'll (of Liverpool), who in 1873 made a break of 893"(29C spots, 5 allround) ; or within 43 of the best over made, lloberts, jun., has played the fastest game on record, having scored 1,000 up in one hour and seventeen minutes in a match with Dufto.n at,,the ; Prince of Wales Hotel, Dublin. Carr-wisely allowed the champion* ‘Ship to pass' to Konttield by.default, aud.the,.lattcr just as wisely allowed it to puss f to lloberts, sen. This player, alter holding his bwxi against the whole world-for nearly a quarter of a century, was, in February 11, 1870, ousted from his position by a mere youth—William Cook. Two months later, however, young lloberts avenged his father by wresting the championship from Cook and holding it .till November, when - he had to succumb to Joseph Bennett. In January, 1871, -.Roberts, jun., won the cup from Bennett, but in May Cook again beat Roberta, and was reinstalled as champion. Three different attempts did lloberts m ike to regain his temporary position without success until on May 24, 1875, at the fourth endeavor, he succeeded Again on December 20 they mot, but Roberts was again victorious, and he continues champion ; though before leaving on his presmit AustMil'an tour Cook challcng'-d him, a rul. Roberta not accepting, Cook claims the championship.