Comfortable Victory over Axiak

By a staff reporter

England and former World Amateur billiards champion Leslie Driffield scored a comfortable victory over Wilfred Axiak of Malta in the current World Championship at the Great Eastern Hotel on Tuesday night, the score in his favour at the end of the four hours being 2,311 points to 742.

This was Driffield’s second win in three matches , his only defeat having been sustained when he met Wilson Jones . He has yet to play Hirjee and Cleary. The English champion had a big monopoly over the table in the first session which was highlighted by a brilliant break of 435.

During this session Axiak’s tenancy at the table was ephemeral but the Maltese champion pegged away gamely and found true expression in the first hour of the second session. When he was seen playing a number of good shots and compiling a few useful breaks.

Driffield’s 453- the highest he has scored so far in the World championship - was a masterly effort of patience, skill and concentration .
Curiously enough the break came somewhat unexpectedly . He paid six blank visits to table in a row and then, when his score was only ten against 35 by Axiak, he got down to business.

On and on Driffield went piling up the points with strokes that seemed effortless and yet they were so shrewdly executed as to manoeuvre the balls beautifully into position . He crossed the baulk line at 373 and seemed well set to go on indefinitely until at 433 he found all three balls in a straight line at the top of the table. He scored off a wonderful following through cum kiss cannon but even after executing this shrewdly calculated stroke he found the position somewhat uninviting. At this stage he tried a kiss cannon off the side cushion and missed it.


This break took Driffield 35 min 47 sec to compile on his ninth visit to the table . On his 12th he made 128 and on his 13th another big break of 365. All this enabled him to lead Axiak by 948 points to 93.

A break of 51 by Axiak ended when he lost the white and then another century break by Driffield enabled him to lead by 1,185 points to 224 at the interval at which stage Axiak was 75 in play.

Axiak took this break to 115 on resumption . Play saged perceptibly after this and in the first hour of second session Driffield added only 222 points to his pre- interval score. Axiak in the meantime made up considerable ground with three half century breaks. But in the remaining hour Driffield went in for a big break building and chalked up three figures in his 15th , 17th, 19th and 20th visits, The last being an unfinished break of 221.

Breaks:
Driffield (First session).—435, 128, 365, 78, 129. (Second session).—62, 259, 133, 245, 221 (unfinished).
Axiak (First session).—51. (Second session ).—115, 59, 55, 61.

Chandra Hirjee (India) v Wilson Jones (India) ---5.30 p.m. and 8.30 p.m.