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HISTORY The game of billiards dates back to the 15th century but snooker is a more recent invention. In the late 19th century billiards games were popular among British army officers stationed in India , and players used to experiment with variations on the game. Due to the fact that billiards was a two-player game, multi-player variations such as life pool (where different coloured balls were use as cue and/or object balls, depending on the situation or number of players) and pyramid pool (fifteen red balls racked in a triangle where each player received a point per ball potted) became popular. Black pool was a form of pyramid pool that took the black ball from a life pool set so a player could pot a red then the black for more points. The most commonly accepted story is that, at the officers' mess in Jabalpur some time in 1875, a Colonel Sir Neville Chamberlain suggested adding coloured balls to black pool so that the variation featured fifteen reds, a yellow, green, pink and black (blue and brown were added some years later). The word 'snooker' was army slang for a first-year cadet. During a game a cadet missed a shot and Chamberlain said to him: "Why you're a regular snooker!" After explaining the meaning to his fellow peers, Chamberlain added that they were perhaps all snookers at this game. The term was adopted for the new variation and has been in use ever since.Billiards - The Official Rules & Records Book, US ISBN 1558211896 British billiards champion John Roberts travelled to India in 1885, where he met Chamberlain. Chamberlain explained the new game to him, and Roberts subsequently introduced it to England. Snooker championships date back to 1916. In 1927, Joe Davis helped establish the First Professional World Championship , and won its prize of £6.10s (£6.50, equivalent to about £200 or $348 today). He went on to win every subsequent world championship until 1946, when he retired from tournament play. The trophy he donated all those years ago is still awarded to the world champion. A dispute between the professionals and the Billiards Association & Control Council (BA&CC, the game's then-governing body) meant that there were only two entrants for the 'official' world championship – Horace Lindrum ( Australia ) beat Clark McConachy ( New Zealand ). However, the professionals organised their own 'world championship' (termed the Professional Match-Play Championship) between 1952 and 1957, and the winners of this version are generally accepted as the World Champion. Nevertheless, it is Lindrum's name that is engraved on the familiar trophy. Snooker suffered a decline in the 1950s and 1960s, so much so that no tournament was held from 1958 to 1963. In 1969, the BBC , in order to demonstrate their new colour broadcasts, launched a new snooker tournament, called '' Pot Black ''. The multi-coloured game, many of whose players were just as colourful, caught the public interest, and the programme's success wildly exceeded expectations. Ted Lowe , the commentator famous for his whispering delivery, was the driving-force behind Pot Black, which survived until well into the 1980s. In the early 1970s, the world championship received little TV coverage. However, in 1976 it was featured for the first time and very quickly became a mainstream professional sport. World rankings were introduced in 1977. Money poured into the game, and a new breed of player, typified by '' by Chas And Dave , featuring contributions from a host of players including Steve Davis and Willie Thorne. Perhaps the peak of this golden age was the final has since surpassed this with Graeme Dott beating Peter Ebdon at 00:53. To this day, polls rank the 1985 World Snooker Championship final amongst UK TV's most memorable all-time moments. With seven wins in the modern era, Stephen Hendry is often considered the most successful player ever. Snooker remains immensely popular in the United Kingdom, second only to Football amongst television viewers. Indeed, it has recently been referred to as "the most mesmerising sport on television" by a BBC advert for their coverage of the 2006 World Championships. GOVERNING BODY The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), founded in 1968 as the Professional Billiard Players' Association, is the governing body for the professional game. Its subsidiary, World Snooker, organises the professional tour. The organisation is based in Bristol , England . Some consider that the world governing body has been racked by in-fighting for a number of years. The amateur game is governed by the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF). THE GAME Setup Snooker is played on a rectangular 6' by 12' (about 1.83m by 3.66m) table with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. At one end of the table (the 'Baulk End' ) is the so-called 'baulk line', which is 29 inches from the baulk end cushion. A semicircle of radius 11½ inches, called the "D", is drawn behind this line, centred on the middle of the line. At the beginning of a frame, the balls are set up in the arrangement shown. On the baulk line, looking up the table from the 'baulk end', the yellow ball (2 points) is located where the "D" meets the line on the right, the green ball (3) where the "D" meets the line on the left, and the brown ball (4) in the middle of the line. This order is often remembered using the Mnemonic 'God Bless You', the first letter of each word being the first letter of the three colours. At the exact centre of the table sits the blue ball (5). Further up the table is the pink ball (6), which sits midway between the blue spot and the top cushion, followed by the red balls (1 each), arranged in a tightly-packed triangle behind the pink (the apex must be as close as possible to the pink ball without touching it). Finally, the black ball (7) is placed on a spot 12¾ inches from the top cushion. Because of the large size of "full sized" snooker tables, smaller tables are common in domestic situations and other situations where space is limited. These are often around 6 feet in length, and all the dimensions and markings are scaled down accordingly. The balls used are sometimes also scaled down. Gameplay A snooker match is usually played to a maximum of an odd number of frames. This means that the winner of the match is the player who first reaches a number of frames higher than half of the total number of frames. If a match has 19 frames, this means a match will end when one of the players reaches 10 frames. At the beginning of each frame the balls are set up by the referee as explained. This will be followed by a "break-off" shot, on which the players take turns. At the break-off, the white cue ball can be placed anywhere inside the "D", although it is common for players to start by placing the ball on the line, between the brown ball and either the green or yellow ball. The cue ball is the ball that players must hit with their cue in order to let it hit and possibly pot another ball. The cue ball is always the white ball and hitting another ball with your cue directly is not allowed. The ball "on" is the first ball that, according to the rules of the game, must be hit by the cue ball after the player has struck it. This changes from shot to shot. Players take turns in visiting the table. When one player is at the table, the other cannot play. A "break" is a number of points scored by one player in one single visit to the table. The game consists of two phases. In the first phase, which begins every new frame or every time a player comes into turn, the balls "on" are all the red balls. A player gets 1 point for a red ball potted. If more than one ball can be potted in a single stroke, the player will receive 1 point for every red. However, the white itself or another colour cannot be potted. Red balls potted will always stay down. If no red ball is potted, the other player comes into play. If a red ball is potted, the player currently in play stays at the table and continues with another stroke. This time one of the six colours is the ball "on". When playing a colour, the game's rules state that a player must nominate the ball being played for to the referee, so that the referee knows which ball is the ball "on" and which are not; however this is not necessary on most shots because the choice is obvious. The choice is usually made explicit only if two or more coloured balls are in close proximity or near the same line of sight. When a colour is potted, the player will be awarded the correct number of points (Yellow, 2; Green, 3; Brown, 4; Blue, 5; Pink, 6; Black, 7). The colour is then taken out of the pocket by the referee and placed on its original spot. If that spot is covered by another ball, the ball is placed on the highest available spot. If there is no available spot, it is placed as close to its own spot as possible in a direct line between that spot and the top (black end) cushion, without touching another ball. If there is no room this side of the spot, it will be placed as close to the spot as possible in a straight line towards the bottom cushion, without touching another ball. A player cannot pot more than one colour at the same time, or a colour and a red. When all reds are gone, the second phase begins. In this phase, all colours have to be potted in the correct order (yellow, then green, then brown, then blue, then pink, then black). They become the ball "on" in that order. During this phase, the colours stay down and are not replaced on the table. When a foul is made during a shot, the player will receive no points for the shot. The other player will receive penalty points. Common fouls are:
Whereas in other games, such as pool, if the cue ball is touched with the tip of the cue when it is in baulk after being potted then a foul is committed, in snooker if the cue ball is touched with the tip after being potted and in the D, a foul is not committed as long as the referee is satisfied that the player was only positioning the ball, and not playing, or preparing to play, a shot. Penalty points are at least 4 points. This can increase depending on the value of the ball "on", and the value of the "foul" ball, whichever is the highest. When more than one foul is made, the penalty is not the added total, but the most highly valued foul. The foul of not hitting the ball "on" first is the most common foul. The name of the game originally comes from the verb "snooker" which means to bully, or to put in trouble. Players can put other players in trouble by making sure they can not hit the ball(s) "on" in a direct line from the next shot. This is called a "snooker". Since players receive points for fouls by their opponents, snookering your opponent is a possible way to win a frame when potting all the balls on the table would be insufficient for you to win. If a foul has been committed by not hitting a ball "on" first, or at all, and the referee judges that the player has not made the best possible effort to hit a ball "on", and neither of the players are in need of snookers to win the frame, then 'foul, and a miss' is called and the other player may request that all balls on the table are returned to their position before the foul, and the opponent play the shot again. (In top class play, this will usually require only the cue ball and a couple of other balls to be moved). When a foul shot has been played, the player who committed the foul may also be asked to go back to the table for another shot if the position is still difficult to play from. It should be noted that this rule does not normally apply to amateur matches. The highest break that can be made under normal circumstances is 147. To achieve that, the player must pot all 15 reds, with the black after every red, followed by potting the six remaining colours. This "maximum break" of 147 rarely occurs in match play. When a player leaves an opponent snookered on at least one side of all balls "on" after a foul, the other player will receive a free ball. This means any colour can be nominated and played as the ball "on". Points are received for the ball "on" after potting it. If the ball "on" is a red ball, after potting the free ball, a player can nominate and pot a colour as usual. This means the highest achievable break is actually 155 points. If an opponent fouls before any balls are potted, and leaves the player a free ball, the player can then nominate a colour and play it as a red ball. Then, black can be nominated as the next colour. This means it is actually possible to score the value of 16 "reds" and blacks, which equals 155 points. This has never been done. The highest break in tournament play is 149, the highest break in professional matchplay is 148. (see also Highest Snooker Break ). A frame normally ends in one of four ways: # a concession, when one player gives up due to being too far behind to have a realistic chance of winning the frame. # when the pink is potted and the difference between the players' scores is more than 7 points. The frame is over and, while the striker may pot the black (for a clearance break, for example), no further shots are allowed. # the black is potted AND the 7 points scored puts one player ahead # a foul on the black AND the 7-point penalty puts one player ahead. (It is sometimes wrongly assumed that play continues after a foul on the black if there is then less than seven points in the scores. This is not the case: the player who makes such a foul loses the frame.) If, however, the black is fouled and the 7-point penalty brings the scores level, the black is respotted. Play continues from in-hand, with the players tossing a coin for the choice of playing first or making the opponent play first. Potting or fouling a respotted black ends the frame. Occasionally, but very rarely, a player will forfeit a frame due to a failure to hit a ball "on" three times in a row, provided the player was not snookered, in which case the player has as many opportunities as is required; and should a player refuse to take his turn at any stage, the referee would have the right to declare the frame over. This would be a most unlikely occurrence. TOURNAMENTS The most important event in professional snooker is the World Championship , held annually since 1927 (except between 1958 and 1963). The tournament has been held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield ( England ) since 1977, and was sponsored by Embassy from 1976 to 2005. Due to the fact that tobacco companies are no longer allowed to sponsor sporting events in the United Kingdom after 2005, the World Snooker Championship had to find a new sponsor. It was announced in January 2006 that the 2006-2010 world championships would be sponsored by online casino 888.com {Link without Title} . Discussion has occurred about the whereabouts of future World Championships, focussing on the possibility of moving the tournament to another city (either in the UK or overseas), or to a bigger venue to accommdate the high spectator demand. This was concluded in 2005 with confirmation that the event will stay in Sheffield for at least a further five years. However, there are plans still to replace The Crucible in Sheffield, by building a new, high capacity, billiards arena. The group of tournaments that come next in importance are the ranking tournaments. Players in these tournaments score World Ranking Points . A high ranking ensures qualification for next year's tournaments, invitations to invitational tournaments and an advantageous draw in tournaments. Third in line are the invitational tournaments, to which most of the highest ranked players are invited. The most important tournament in this category is The Masters , which to most players is the 2nd or 3rd most sought-after prize. There are also other championships that have less importance, which don't give any world ranking points and aren't televised. These can change on a year-to-year basis depending on calendars and sponsors but the World Snooker website has full details. NOTABLE PLAYERS Excepting Jimmy White, the following players have all won the World Snooker Championship. SNOOKER EQUIPMENT ; chalk : The tip of the cue is 'chalked' to ensure good contact between cue and ball. ; cue : The wooden stick, the tip of which is used to strike the cue ball. ; extension : A shorter stick that fits over (or screws into) the back end of the cue, effectively lengthening the cue. Used to facilitate shots where the cue ball is a long distance from the player. ; rest : A stick with an X-shaped head that is used to support the cue when the cue ball is out of reach at normal extension. ; hook rest : Identical to the normal rest, yet with a hooked metal end. It is used to set the rest around another ball. The hook rest is the most recent invention in snooker. ; spider : Similar to the rest but has an arch-shaped head; it is used to elevate (and support) the tip of the cue above the height of the cue ball. Also available is the extended spider, which is used in situations where the position of the balls prevents the use of the spider (because the spider's legs would need to be placed where a ball intervenes). ; swan (or swan-necked spider) : Rarely used - the swan has a single extended neck with a fork-like prong at the end to give extra distance over larger obstructions. Also referred to as a cantilever spider. ; triangle : The piece of equipment used for gathering the balls into the formation required by the game being played. Also known as a rack. ; extended rest : Same as the regular rest, but with a mechanism which makes it possible to extend the rest by 3 feet. ; extended spider : Rest which is a hybrid between the swan and the spider. Its purpose is to bridge over large packs of reds. Rarely seen in professional snooker. ; ball marker : multi-purpose instrument with 'D' shaped notch, which a referee can (1) place next to a ball, in order to mark the position of the ball. He now can remove the ball to clean it; (2) use to judge if a ball is preventing a colour from being placed on its spot; (3) use to judge if the cue-ball can hit the extreme edge of a "ball on" when awarding a free ball (by placing it alongside the potentially intervening ball). ''See Snooker Glossary '' for details of the game's terminology. SEE ALSO
Results REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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