What is Snooker?
Snooker is a cue sport which originated in England in the late 1800s. It is played on a snooker table which is typically 12ft x 6ft. The table is made with a wooden frame and a slate bed covered with a green cloth called the baize. The table has 6 pockets in which players pot balls in sequence to score points. It is played with only two players.
Where does Snooker come from?
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Snooker is credited to British Army Officer Sir Neville Chamberlain. British soldiers commonly played a similar sport called English billiards during the 19th century. Snooker was an adaptation of Billiard games. Originally only played by soldiers, it gained popularity with the public in the early part of the 20th century.
Today, snooker is an internationally recognized sport with millions of followers. How do you play Snooker?The aim of the game is to pot balls into the pockets to achieve a higher score than your opponent. Players must use a cue to hit the cue ball into other balls knocking them into the pockets. The game uses a total of 22 balls including the cue ball. The balls’ values are as follows:
Red: 1 point Yellow: 2 points Green: 3 points Brown: 4 points Blue: 5 points Pink: 6 points Black: 7 points Each player takes turns to build a break (score points). They must first pot a red ball, then any other colour afterwards. This sequence is then repeated until the player misses or fouls. When a colour ball is potted, it is immediately replaced on its starting spot on the table. When the red balls are potted, they remain off the table. When all the red balls have been potted, the remaining colours must be potted in point order from lowest to highest. A single frame of Snooker can last about 10-15 minutes for professionals but can take almost 2 hours for beginners to finish a frame. It takes a lot of time and effort to become good at Snooker, however as players level up they realize how complex and therefore exciting and interesting the game is. Snooker is not just simply potting balls. The players must think about positioning and shot types to make the game more favourable for them to win. There are many different types of shots which can be played which make the game very strategic. Some examples include: top spin, stun, screw, swerve and side. These shots are played when the cue ball is struck in different positions with different power. Mastering these shots can take years of practice. Who plays Snooker?Unfortunately today, the majority of snooker players are male. There are many professional female Snooker players, however the amount of tournaments for females are far fewer. This will hopefully change in the future, however.
The game of Snooker is very popular around the world especially in the UK. Many people enjoy watching Snooker on TV as it is regularly broadcast to the public. If you ever have the chance to play Snooker, we highly recommend it. When you visit British Hills please come and give the game a try. With our three international-standard tables, you can experience first-hand how wonderful the game is. |
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Test yourself with the worksheet below:
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