An Introduction to Snooker

The Snooker World Championship is an annual event held in the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The event first took place in 1927 and has gradually increased in popularity and sporting significance ever since.

Cue = the long chalk tipped stick that the players use to strike the cue ball

Cue Ball = the white ball that the player can hit with the cue to control the direction of the object ball

Object Ball = the ball that the player is trying to hit with the cue ball or the ball the player must hit.

Safety = This is when a player decides to play a safe shot by not trying to pot a ball. Instead the player will strike the object ball and attempt to get the cue ball into a safe position where the opponent is either 'snookered' or cannot easily pot a ball (I have attached a video at the end of the page that shows how to play a safety shot).

A Snooker = During a ‘safety exchange’ the players will deliberately try to ‘snooker’ their opponent. This means they will try to hide the cue ball behind one ball so that their opponent cannot hit the object ball directly. When achieved successfully, this play can either draw a foul from your opponent or ensure you are given an easier opportunity to pot the object ball.

Snookered = This is when a player is unable to directly hit the object ball and must therefore either swerve to hit the object ball or must play the cue ball against the cushion first.

Cushion = This is the inside part of raised perimeter of the table. It serves two purposes. Firstly it stops the balls from falling off the table. Secondly it can be used to escape from difficult situations and to position the cue ball by bouncing off it.

Snooker is played on a table similar to Pool except the table is 12 feet long and 6 feet wide. There are 15 red balls and 6 colour balls, namely yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black. The players score points by potting these balls by striking them with the white cue ball. A single game of Snooker is called a frame. A frame begins when the cue ball is placed in the D at the opposite end to the pack of reds, which are arranged tightly into a triangle. A player must take the first shot of the game which is called a ‘break off’ shot (As seen on the video below). For a successful break off shot the player must strike a red ball and ensure that the cue ball ends up in a safe position where the opponent will be unable to pot a red ball. From here, the two players play ‘safety’ shots until a chance arises to make a pot. If either player pots the cue ball or hits the wrong colour, a foul is called by the referee and the opponent is awarded between 4 and 7 points depending on the foul. Most fouls result in a 4 point penalty, but if the player connects with the blue, pink or black when not supposed to, the penalty points awarded are the same as the value of the ball hit. Players must pot a red ball first for one point and are only then allowed to pot a more valuable colour ball. After they pot a red and a colour, they must again pot a red to continue the ‘break’ and this red/colour sequence continues until all the reds are potted. The value of the colour balls are as follows: yellow = 2, green = 3, brown = 4, blue = 5, pink = 6 and black = 7. Once all the reds are potted, the players must then attempt to pot the remaining colour balls in order of value starting with the least valuable yellow ball. If a player successfully pots all 15 reds and 15 blacks, and all the colours, they will achieve the rarest break in the game, a maximum of 147. If the players are tied on the same number of points at the end of the frame, the victor is decided by a re-spotted black. This is where the black is removed from the pocket and the players compete to pot it for victory. If a player fouls at this stage by potting the cue ball, the frame is awarded to the opponent.

In terms of television audience, Snooker was at its most popular in the 1980s and early 1990s. At this time Steve Davis was the most dominant player in the game and to date he has won six World Championships. However the reign of Davis came to an end with the emergence of the greatest champion in the history of the game, Scotsman Stephen Hendry. In 1990 Hendry became the youngest ever champion at just 21 years old. He completely dominated the sport in that decade and won seven world titles, the last of which came in 1999. Many experts and former players believe that the sport has become so competitive in recent years that there will never be a player as dominant as Davis or Hendry again. Since the turn of the century those comments have been proved right as not a single player has been able to win consecutive titles since Hendry won the last of his 5 consecutive in 1996.

Despite the lack of a dominant force in the game, most commentators agree that Ronnie O'Sullivan is the most gifted player to have ever played the game. He has won three titles in the modern era and remains a powerful opponent to this day. He is known as 'Rocket Ronnie' for his fast and fluent playing style. In the 1997 World Championship, O'Sullivan produced one of the most amazing moments ever in Snooker when he made a maximum break of 147 in just 5 minutes and 20 seconds. I have attached the video of this below.

Since the turn of the century the game has begun to emerge as a huge success in Asia, with a host of players from China and Japan coming into the sport. While the World Championship has yet to have an Asian winner it is thought to be only a matter of time. Indeed, there are many attempts being made to move the World Championships to a venue in Beijing as it offers a greater revenue for the sport and bigger prize money for the players.