Sentence:  Having counted 38 points he tried a beautiful massé out of the corner, hit the first ball just a trifle too hard and kissed his own ball off just when victory seemed to be his. The <WSD>leave</WSD> was unfortunate for Ives. Slosson played brilliantly and ran the game out, a close winner, with 22 points. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The arrangement of balls in play that remains after a shot is made (which determines whether the next shooter — who may be either the same player, or an opponent — has good options, or only poor ones).