Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-03-23
CURE WINS FIRST
BILLIARD MATCH
French Expert Takes Opening
Game in Worlds Tourney
From Demarest.

NEW YORK, March BIN the opening
game of the worlds championship tourna-
ment at eighteen-inch balk-line billiards.
| two shots in balk. in the concert hail.
Madison Square Garden, last night. Louis
Cure Of Paris won from Calvin Demarest
OF Chicago by a score of SEQ to 800, in a
brilliantly uneven and spectacular con-
test. The match opening the tournament
brought together the most uncertain
quantities In the competition, the veteran
expert from France and the young eX-
amateur from Chicago presenting such a
difficult problem to the enthusiasts that
the big crowd in attendance hardly tried
to guess at the result until Cure had
taken commanding lead and seemed to
| have the match won.
1t was Demarest's first contest as a pro-
| fessional in a great match, and his in
| experience told against him in the early
play, but he steadied in magnificent style
after some erratic play. and though he
| had a hopeless fight, played a splendid
and plucky uphill game to the end, cut
| ting down Cures lead nearly 200 points
| in his long pursuit of the Frenchman,
from the fourteenth to the twentieth in
| ming.
Cure made the best runs. with a high
run for the game of $50. but Demarest
made singularly good showing In his
steady. resolute play throughout the lat
ter half Of the match.
Cure Careless.
Throughout Cure played rapidly, giving
| little apparent thought to his shots, and
at the close Demarest played in the same
style. both men then playing an open
game, with the balls widely separated for
the greater part of the contest, and the
| shots that counted taking many cushions
in around the table shots and long car
| roms.
The match was the first game in the
| series arranged for the worlds champion
ship in the 1872 tournament. 800 points
each game. for the title and championship
trophy, with stake of 81. 600 and a share
in the gate receipts as the money prize
to the winner.
In the bank for the first shot Demarest,
laying his cue bali within hairs breadth
of the rail, won. chose the white ball, and
made the break for two points. counting
on cushion carroms. and then missed a
hard masse shot. Cure took the lead in
his first inning with run of three. but
Demarest regained first place with a run
of ten In the second, and held ii to the
fourth inning, for which both players
made good runs, Demarest's count of 33
promptly being beaten by Cures AZ. the
Frenchman regaining the lead amid loud
applause.
The play to this point had been a fine
exhibition of careful. expert billiards, but
Cure grew as careless as Demarest grew
anxious In the succeeding innings, both
through overcaution in his play for po-
sition. Demarest mistaken in his conf
dence, went on for his best run to that
stage of the game. 81 points. in the sixth
inning. After counting at all sorts of
brilliant and difficult shots. he closed his
run by missing simple and easy looking
two-cushion corom to the object bali,
laid about three inches from the rail, in a
Demarest returned to the eighth inning
for carefully nursed run of %. but
missed on a studied shot for position by
having the first object ball rebounding
a long draw shot. Cure. In his turn,
duplicated the run. and came to stop
on a careless stroke for two-cushion
carom to the corner In the succeeding
four innings Cure, with run of $50 in
cluded, took a commanding lead, while
Demarest made but little addition to his
score. the balls rolling badly for him in
spite of his careful play for position.
Demarest Determined.
Beginning in the fourteenth inning
there was a marked change in the play of
both men. Demarest steadying and gain
ing In a style that contrasted strangely
with the falling off in Cures game.
Demarest made his best showing of the
match in the fourteenth and fifteenth in
nings. running 81 in the fourteenth. with
succession of hard masse and follow
shots, holding his run together. At this
stage of the game Demarest rallied splen-
didly and played with superb confidence
and dash. Cures play showed at its
weakest here, the Frenchman counting
but once In four innings. while Demarest
cut down his lead from 246 in Cures
favor in the fourteenth to So in Cures
favor at the end of the twentieth inning
Cures lead still was too big for the
youthful ex-amateur to overcome how
ever. Demarest played steadily and bril-
liantly to the end. but a run of % for
Cure I'm the twenty-sixth inning, leaving
him but II to go, virtually beat the Chi
cagoan. and in four more innings Cure
ran out the total score being 800 to 800
Two games in the championship tourna-
ment are to be played today. The first, |
I'm the afternoon, will DE between Albert
l.. Cutler and Harry Cline. The second. |
to be played in the evening. will be be-
tween George Sutton, the former cham