[8] As this was the first match for the World Championship, five players, which included Cook, with Roberts taking the chair, formed a committee to draw up a special set of rules for the game.

[9] The committee were persuaded by Roberts that the highest test of a champion would be a table on which the greatest accuracy was needed when playing pots.

[13][14] Cook was nonetheless considered the favourite, and the 20-year-old had improved much from his win over Roberts Jr the previous year.

[15] Before the match he wrote a letter to the Sporting Life, stating that he believed that the smaller pockets would not affect his game.

[16] At 1:38 a.m. on the morning of 12 February 1870, Cook defeated Roberts 1,200-1,083 to win the title,[17] and won a newly created trophy, £100 and a Maltese cross.