Snooker

For other uses, see Snooker (disambiguation).

Snooker (UK /ˈsnuːkər/, US /ˈsnʊkər/)[2][3] is a cue sportplayed on a table covered with a green cloth or baize, withpockets at each of the four corners and in the middle ofeach of the long side cushions. A full-size table measures11 ft 81⁄2 in × 5 ft 10 in (3569 mm x 1778 mm), com-monly referred to as 12 × 6 ft.The game is played using a cue and 22 snooker balls: onewhite cue ball, 15 red balls worth one point each, and sixballs of different colours: yellow (2 points), green (3),brown (4), blue (5), pink (6) and black (7).[4] The redballs are initially placed in a triangular formation, andthe other coloured balls on marked positions on the tableknown as “spots”. Players execute shots by striking thecue ball with the cue, causing the cue ball to hit a red orcoloured ball. Points are scored by sinking the red andcoloured balls (knocking them into the pockets, called“potting”) in the correct sequence. A player receives ad-ditional points if the opponent commits a foul. A player(or team) wins a frame (individual game) of snooker byscoring more points than the opponent(s). A player winsa match when a predetermined number of frames havebeen won.Snooker, generally regarded as having been invented inIndia by British Army officers, is popular in many of theEnglish-speaking and Commonwealth countries,[5] withtop professional players attainingmulti-million-pound ca-reer earnings from the game.[6] The sport is now increas-ingly popular in China.[7] Touring professional playerscompete regularly around the world, the premier tour-nament being the World Championship, held annually inSheffield, England.

1 History

Main article: History of snookerSnooker in its modern form originated in the later halfof the 19th century.[8] Billiards had been a popular ac-tivity amongst British Army officers stationed in India,and variations on the more traditional billiard games weredevised. One variation, devised in the officers’ mess inJabalpur during 1874 or 1875,[8] was to add colouredballs in addition to the reds and black which were usedfor pyramid pool and life pool.[9] The rules were formallyfinalised in 1884 by Sir Neville Chamberlain at Ooty. Theword snooker also has military origins, being a slang term

Illustration of a game of three ball pocket billiards in early 19th-century Tübingen, Germany

for first-year cadets or inexperienced personnel.[8] Oneversion of events states that Colonel Sir Neville Cham-berlain of the Devonshire regiment was playing this newgame when his opponent failed to pot a ball and Cham-berlain called him a snooker.[9] It thus became attached tothe billiards game now bearing its name as inexperiencedplayers were labelled as snookers.[10]

Snooker grew in popularity in England but generally itwas still a game for the gentry, and many well establishedgentleman clubs which had a billiards table would not al-low nonmembers inside to play. To accommodate thepopularity of the game, smaller and more open snooker-specific clubs started to be formed.The game of snooker grew in the later half of the 19thcentury and the early 20th century, and by 1927 the firstWorld Snooker Championship[8] had been organised byJoe Davis who, as a professional English billiards andsnooker player, moved the game from a pastime activ-ity into a more professional sphere.[11] Joe Davis won ev-ery world championship until 1946 when he retired. Thegame went into a decline through the 1950s and 1960swith little interest generated outside of those who played.In 1959, Davis introduced a variation of the game, knownas snooker plus, to try to improve the game’s popularityby adding two extra colours. However, it never caught on.A major advance occurred in 1969, when David Atten-borough commissioned the snooker tournament Pot Blackto demonstrate the potential of colour television, with thegreen table and multi-coloured balls being ideal for show-ing off the advantages of colour broadcasting.[12][13] TheTV series became a ratings success and was for a timethe second most popular show on BBC Two.[14] Interest

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2 2 THE GAME

in the game increased and the 1978World Championshipwas the first to be fully televised.[5][15] The game quicklybecame a mainstream game[16] in the UK, Ireland andmuch of the Commonwealth and has enjoyed much suc-cess in the last 30 years, with most of the ranking tour-naments being televised. In 1985 a total of 18.5 millionviewers watched the concluding frame of the world cham-pionship final between Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis.[17]The loss of tobacco sponsorship during the 2000s led toa decrease in the number of professional tournaments, al-though some new sponsors were sourced;[18] and the pop-ularity of the game in the Far East and China, with emerg-ing talents such as Liang Wenbo and more establishedplayers such as Ding Junhui and Marco Fu, boosted thesport in that part of the world.[7][19]

In 2010, promoter Barry Hearn gained a controlling in-terest inWorld Snooker Ltd, the professional sport’s com-mercial arm, pledging to revitalise the “moribund” pro-fessional game. Under his direction, the number of pro-fessional tournaments has increased, certain tournamentformats have been changed in an attempt to increase theirappeal, and, as of 2013, total prize money had more thandoubled from £3m to more than £7m.[20][21]

2 The game

Main article: Rules of snookerThe object of the game is to score more points than one’sopponent by potting object balls in the correct order. Atthe start of a frame, the balls are positioned as shown, andthe players then take turns to hit shots by striking the cueball with the tip of the cue, their aim being to pot one ofthe red balls into a pocket and thereby score a point, or, ifthis is not possible, to at least hit a red ball so as to avoidmaking a foul shot. If the striker pots a red ball, he or shemust then pot one of the six “colours” (in snooker, theterm colour is understood to exclude the red balls). If theplayer successfully pots a colour, the value of that ball isadded to the player’s score, and the ball is returned to itsstarting position on the table. After that, the player mustpot another red ball, then another colour, and so on. Thisprocess continues until the striker fails to pot the desiredball, at which point the opponent comes to the table toplay the next shot.The game continues in this manner until all the reds arepotted and only the six colours are left on the table. At thispoint the colours must be potted in the order from leastto most valuable ball – that is, yellow first (2 points), thengreen (3 points), brown (4 points), blue (5 points), pink(6 points) and finally black (7 points), the balls not beingreturned to play. When the final ball is potted, the playerwith more points wins.[4] If the scores are equal when allthe balls have been potted, the black is placed back on itsspot as a tiebreaker. A player may also concede a framewhile on strike if he or she thinks there are not enoughpoints available on the table to beat the opponent’s score.

Snooker table with balls placed in their starting positions. At thestart of the game, the cue ball (white) may be placed anywherein the semicircle, known as the “D”.

Game in progress on a half-size table. A red ball about to bepotted.

In professional snooker this is a common occurrence.Points may also be scored in a game when a player’s op-ponent fouls. A foul can occur for various reasons, mostcommonly for failing to hit the correct ball (e.g. hitting acolour first when the player was attempting to hit a red),

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or for sending the cue ball into a pocket. The former mayoccur when the player fails to escape from "a snooker" – asituation in which the previous player leaves the cue ballpositioned such that no legal ball can be struck directlywithout obstruction by an illegal ball. Points gained froma foul vary from a minimum of 4 to a maximum of 7 ifthe black ball is involved.[4]

The total number of consecutive points (excluding fouls)that a player amasses during one visit to the table is knownas a "break". A player attaining a break of 15, for exam-ple, could have reached it by potting a red then a black,then a red then a pink, before failing to pot the next red.The traditional maximum break in snooker is achieved bypotting all reds with blacks then all colours, yielding 147points; this is often known as a “147” or a “maximum”.[22]The highest possible break is a 155 break, also knownas a super maximum. This is achieved via the opponentleaving a free ball, with the black being potted as the ad-ditional colour, and then potting 15 reds and blacks withthe colours. Jamie Cope has the distinction of being thefirst player in snooker history to post a verified 155 break,achieved in a practice frame in 2005.One game, from the balls in their starting position untilthe last ball is potted, is called a frame. A match gener-ally consists of a predetermined number of frames and theplayer who wins the most frames wins the match. Mostprofessional matches require a player to win five frames,and are called “Best of Nine” as that is the maximum pos-sible number of frames. Tournament finals are usuallybest of 17 or best of 19, while the World Championshipuses longer matches – ranging from best of 19 in the qual-ifiers and the first round proper, up to 35 frames in length(first to 18), and is played over two days, extended if nec-essary until a winner is determined.[23]

Professional and competitive amateur matches are offi-ciated by a referee who is the sole judge of fair play.The referee also replaces the colours on the table whennecessary and calls out how many points the player hasscored during a break. Professional players usually playthe game in a sporting manner, declaring fouls the refereehas missed, acknowledging good shots from their oppo-nent, or holding up a hand to apologise for fortunate shots,also known as “flukes”.Accessories used for snooker include chalk for the tip ofthe cue, rests of various sorts (needed often, due to thelength of a full-size table), a triangle to rack the reds, anda scoreboard. One drawback of snooker on a full-size ta-ble is the size of the room (22 by 16 feet (6.7 m × 4.9 m)),which is the minimum required for comfortable cueingroom on all sides.[24] This limits the number of locationsin which the game can easily be played. While pool tablesare common to many pubs, snooker tends to be playedeither in private surroundings or in public snooker halls.The game can also be played on smaller tables using fewerred balls. The variants in table size are: 10 ft × 5 ft, 9 ft× 4.5 ft, 8 ft × 4 ft, 6 ft × 3 ft (the smallest for realistic

An extended spider, which can be used to bridge over balls ob-structing a shot that is too far away to be bridged by hand

Video of a snooker break-off shot

play) and 4 ft × 2 ft. Smaller tables can come in a varietyof styles, such as fold away or dining-table convertible.A traditional snooker scoreboard resembles an abacus,and records units, tens and hundreds via horizontal slidingpointers. [25] They are typically attached to a wall by thesnooker table. A simple scoring bead is also sometimesused, called a scoring string, or scoring wire. Each bead(segment of the string) represents a single point. Snookerplayers typically move one or several beads with their cue.

3 Governance and tournaments

3.1 Organisation

See also: List of snooker tournaments and Snookerorganisations

4 3 GOVERNANCE AND TOURNAMENTS

The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Associa-tion (WPBSA, also known asWorld Snooker), founded in1968 as the Professional Billiard Players’ Association,[26]is the governing body for the professional game.[27][28][29]The amateur game is governed by the International Bil-liards and Snooker Federation (IBSF).[30]

3.2 Tournaments

Professional snooker players can play on the WorldSnooker main tour ranking circuit. Ranking points,earned by players through their performances over theprevious two seasons, determine the current worldranking.[31] A player’s ranking determines what level ofqualification he or she requires for ranking tournaments.The elite of professional snooker is generally regardedas the “Top 16” ranking players,[32] who are not re-quired to pre-qualify for three of the tournaments, namelythe Shanghai Masters, Australian Open and the WorldSnooker Championship.[33] The tour contains 96 players– the top 64 from the previous two seasons, the 8 highestranked professional players on the Players Tour Cham-pionship Order of Merit who are not in the top 64, 12players from the Q School, and various regional, juniorand amateur champions.[34]

The most important event in professional snooker is theWorld Championship,[35] held annually since 1927 (ex-cept during World War II and between 1958 and 1963).The tournament has been held at the Crucible Theatrein Sheffield, England since 1977, and was sponsored byEmbassy from 1976 to 2005.[18] Since 2005, tobaccocompanies have not been allowed to sponsor sportingevents in the United Kingdom, and the World Champi-onship had to find a new sponsor. It was announced inJanuary 2006 that the 2006–2010 world championshipswould be sponsored by online casino 888.com. TheChampionship is currently sponsored by BetFred.comafter 888.com pulled out of their five-year sponsor-ship deal after three years.[36] On 15 April 2009 theWorld Snooker Championship website announced thatBetfred.com would be the new sponsor of the WorldChampionship for the next four years.[37][38]

The status of winning the World Championship is great,and it is the most highly valued prize in professionalsnooker,[39] both in terms of financial reward (£300,000for the winner, formerly £250,000)[40] as well as rank-ing points and prestige. TheWorld Championship is tele-vised extensively in the UK by the BBC[41] and gains sig-nificant coverage in Europe on Eurosport[42] and in theFar East.The group of tournaments that come next in importanceare the other ranking tournaments. Players in these tour-naments score world ranking points. A high ranking en-sures qualification for next year’s tournaments, invitationsto invitational tournaments and an advantageous draw intournaments.[32] The most prestigious of these after the

World Snooker Championship trophy

World Championship is the UK Championship. Third inline are the invitational tournaments, to which most ofthe highest ranked players are invited. The most impor-tant tournament in this category is TheMasters,[43] whichto most players is the second or third most sought-afterprize.[44]

In an attempt to answer criticisms that televised matchescan be slow or get bogged down in lengthy safety ex-changes and that long matches causes problems foradvertisers,[45] an alternative series of timed tournamentshas been organised byMatchroom Sport Chairman BarryHearn. The shot-timed Premier League Snooker was es-tablished, with seven players invited to compete at regularUnited Kingdom venues, televised on Sky Sports. Playershave twenty-five seconds to take each shot, with five time-outs per player per match. While some success has beenachieved with this format, it generally does not receivethe same amount of press attention or status as the reg-ular ranking tournaments. However, this event has beentaken out of the tour since 2013, when the Champion ofChampions was established.There are also other tournaments that have less impor-tance, earn no world ranking points and are not televised.These can change on a year-to-year basis depending on

5

calendars and sponsors.In 2015, the World Professional Billiards and SnookerAssociation submitted a bid for snooker to be played atthe 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[46]

3.3 Criticism

Several players, such as Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Allenand Steve Davis, have warned that there are so manytournaments that players risk burning out. In 2012,O'Sullivan played fewer tournaments in order to spendmore time with his children, and ended the 2012/13 sea-son ranked No. 19 in the world. Furthermore, he did notplay any tournament in 2013 except the World Champi-onship, which he won.[47]

4 Equipment

Cue-tip chalk, cue, white chalk-board chalk, and a sliding score-keeper.

Table The playing surface, 11 feet 8.5 inches by 5 ft 10inches for a standard full-size table, with six pocketholes, one at each corner and one at the center ofeach of the longer side cushions. For further in-formation see Billiard table, specifically the sectionSnooker and English billiards tables.

Cloth The cloth is usually green, with a directional naprunning from the baulk end of the table towards theend with the black ball spot. The cloth is often calledbaize; however baize is a much inferior type of clothsometimes used on pool tables. The nap will affectthe direction of the cue ball depending on which di-rection the cue ball is shot and also on whether left orright side (spin) is placed on the ball. Even if the cueball is hit in exactly the same way, the nap will causea different effect depending on whether the ball ishit down table (towards the black ball spot) or up ta-ble towards the baulk line. The cloth on a snookertable should not be vacuumed, especially if the vac-uum head has beater brushes, as this can destroy

the nap. The best method is to brush the cloth in astraight line from the baulk end to the far end. Mul-tiple brush strokes are fine as long as they are straightin direction (i.e. not across the table). Some tablemen will also then drag a dampened cloth wrappedaround a short piece of board (like a two by four)to collect any remaining fine dust and help lay thenap down. Strachan cloth as used in official snookertournaments is made up of 100% wool. Some othercloths include a small percentage of nylon.[48][49]

Balls 22 balls (15 red, 6 colour balls and a white cueball), 52.5 mm or 21⁄16 inches in diameter. For fur-ther information see Billiard ball, particularly thesection Snooker

Cue A stick, made of wood or fibreglass, tapering to atip, usually ending in leather, which is used to strikethe cue-ball.

Cue-tip chalk The tip of the cue is “chalked” to ensuregood contact between the cue and the cue-ball. This“chalk” is generally a silica based compound ratherthan actual chalk of the type used used on black-boards.

Extension A shorter baton that fits over, or screws into,the back end of the cue, effectively lengthening it. Isused for shots where the cue ball is a long distancefrom the player.

Rest A stick with an X-shaped head that is used to sup-port the cue when the cue ball is out of reach at nor-mal extension.

Rest head adaptor An attachment that slips onto a con-ventional rest head to make a spider or just to give aslightly different bridge.

Hook rest Identical to the normal rest, yet with a hookedmetal end. It is used to set the rest around anotherball. The hook rest is the most recent invention insnooker.

Spider Similar to the rest but with an arch-shaped head;it is used to elevate and support the tip of the cueabove the height of the cue-ball.

Swan (or swan-neck spider or giraffe) This equip-ment, consisting of a rest with a single extendedneck and a fork-like prong at the end, is used to giveextra cueing distance over a group of balls. If notavailable, a regular X rest can be placed on a spiderso it in turn hangs the required distance beyond toprovide similar support.

Triangle/Rack The piece of equipment is used for gath-ering the red balls into the formation required for thebreak to start a frame.

Extended rest Similar to the regular rest, but with amechanism at the butt end which makes it possibleto extend the rest by up to three feet.

6 6 VARIANTS

Extended spider A hybrid of the swan and the spider.Its purpose is to bridge over large packs of reds. Isless common these days in professional snooker butcan be used in situations where the position of oneor more balls prevents the spider being placed wherethe striker desires.

Half butt Usually housed underneath the side of the ta-ble, the half butt is a combination of a table lengthrest and cue which is rarely used unless the cue ballneeds to be struck in such a way that the entire lengthof the table is the actual obstacle.

Ball marker A multi-purpose instrument with a “D”shaped notch, which a referee can (1) place next toa ball, in order to mark the position of it. They canthen remove the ball to clean it; (2) use to judge if aball is preventing a colour from being placed on itsspot; (3) use to judge if the cue ball can hit the ex-treme edge of a “ball on” when awarding a free ball(by placing it alongside the potentially interveningball).

5 Notable players

Ronnie O’Sullivan has won the most world titles in the 21st cen-tury (in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2013).

See also: List of snooker players by number of rankingtitles and List of snooker players with over 100 centurybreaks

In the professional era that began with Joe Davis inthe 1930s and continues until the present day, a rela-

tively small number of players have succeeded at the toplevel.[50] Reaching and maintaining a place amongst thesnooker elite is a tough task, with the standards of thegame being such that it requires many years of dedica-tion and effort as well as natural ability.[51]

Through the decades, certain players have tended to dom-inate the game. John Pulman is generally regarded as theprincipal player through the 1960s, Ray Reardon throughthe 1970s, Steve Davis through the 1980s and StephenHendry through the 1990s. Reardon won 6 (1970, 1973–1976 and 1978), Davis also 6 (1981, 1983, 1984 and1987–1989) and Hendry 7 (1990, 1992–1996 and 1999)World Championships. Ronnie O'Sullivan dominates inthe modern era, having won the title on five occasionsin the 21st century (2001, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2013).Mark Williams has won twice (2000, 2003) and JohnHiggins four times (1998, 2007, 2009, 2011). By retain-ing his title in 2013, O'Sullivan became the first player tosuccessfully defend the World Championship since 1996when Hendry won the sixth of his seven titles, his fifth ina row.[52]

6 Variants

See also: Snooker variants

• American snooker, a variant dating to 1925, usu-ally played on a 10 by 5 foot table with 2 1⁄8 inchballs, and a simpler rule set influenced by pool (de-spite its name, American snooker is not governed orrecognised by the United States Snooker Associa-tion).

• Power Snooker, a variant with only nine reds, ina diamond-shaped pack, instead of 15 in a triangle,and matches limited to 30 minutes.

• Sinuca brasileira, a Brazilian version with only onered ball, and divergent rules.

• Six-red snooker, a variant played with only six redsin a triangular pack.

• Snookerpool, a variant played on an American pooltable with ten reds in a triangular pack.

• Snooker plus, a variant with two additional colourballs (8pt orange and 10pt purple), allowing amaximum break of 210.[53][54] The variation wascreated by Joe Davis in 1959 and used at the 1959News of the World Snooker Plus Tournament. Itfailed to gain popularity.

• Snookball, a combination of snooker andassociation football played on an oversizedsnooker table. Regular snooker rules apply exceptfootballs are used rather than snooker balls (which

7

resemble regular snooker balls, including the cueball) and the cue ball is kicked rather than hit witha cue stick. The game is based on “poolball”, acombination of eight-ball and association football,where the footballs resemble regular pool balls.

• Ten-red snooker, a variant played with only tenreds in a triangle.

• Volunteer snooker, a variant from the early 1900s.

7 See also• Snooker season 2015/2016

• Snooker world rankings 2015/2016

• Snooker world ranking points 2015/2016

• Glossary of cue sports terms – includes key snooker-specific terminology

8 References[1] “Snooker bids to be included in 2020 Olympics in Tokyo”,

BBC Sport, 22 January 2015, (Retrieved 28 April 2015)

[2] “Pronunciation of snooker". Macmillan Dictionary. Lon-don, UK: Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved 19 March2012.

[3] “American pronunciation of snooker". Macmillan Dictio-nary. op. cit. Retrieved 19 March 2012.

[4] “Official Rules of the Games of Snooker and EnglishBilliards” (PDF). The World Professional Billiards &Snooker Association Limited. November 2014. Re-trieved May 10, 2015. line feed character in |publisher=at position 56 (help)

[5] Everton, Clive “Take snooker to the world”, BBC Sport, 5May 2002, (Retrieved 24 February 2007)

[6] Reardon, R. “Where does Ronnie rank?", BBC Sport, 21February 2005, (Retrieved 25 February 2007)

[7] “China in Ding’s hands”, BBC Sport, 22 January 2007,(Retrieved 25 February 2007)

[8] Maume, C.“Sporting Vernacular 11. Snooker”, The Inde-pendent, 26 April 1999, (Retrieved 25 February 2007)

[9] Shamos, Mike (1993), The Complete Book of Billiards.ISBN 0-517-20869-5

[10] unknown author “Origins of the Game of Snooker”, Ti-tan Sports, unknown date, (Retrieved 25 February 2007),(Archive Version)

[11] unknown author “Snooker Timeline” “Joe Davis will rein-vent this after-dinner pastime and become world cham-pion”, cuesnviews.co.uk, unknown date, (Retrieved 24February 2007), (Archive Version)

[12] “Pot Black returns”, BBC Sport, 27 October 2005. Re-trieved 24 February 2007

[13] Porter, H. “Cue China”, Time Magazine, 20 June 2008,(Retrieved 23 June 2008)

[14] unknown author, “Pot Black Ratings” “Surprisingly, theprogramme raced to second place in the BBC2 ratings”, un-known date, (Retrieved 24 February 2007) (Archive Ver-sion)

[15] unknown author “1978 – The World Snooker Champi-onships”, “By 1977, though, a new lighting system hadbeen devised, allowing the players to be seen clearlywithout problems and, the following year, Aubrey Singeragreed to cover the World Championships all the waythrough, with an hour of highlights every day for 16 days”,unknown date, (Retrieved 24 February 2007), (ArchiveVersion)

[16] MacInnes, P.“Thatch of the day”, The Guardian, 10February 2004, (Retrieved 24 February 2007)

[17] “1985: the black ball final” BBC sport

[18] Anstead, M.“Snooker finds sponsor with deep pockets”,The Guardian, 19 January 2006, (Retrieved 24 February2007), (Archive Version)

[19] “Could Ding be snooker’s saviour?", BBC Sport, 4 April2005, (Retrieved 25 February 2007)

[20] “BarryHearnwins vote to take control ofWorld Snooker”,BBC Sport, 2 June 2010

[21] “Barry Hearn: World Snooker chief on how he saved thesport”, BBC Sport, 27 November 2013

[22] “Ding compiles maximum at Masters”, BBC Sport, (Re-trieved 24 February 2007)

[23] “World title victory delights Dott”, BBC Sport, (Retrieved24 February 2007)

[24] Peter Ietswaart, “Thurston Snooker Table makers”, Rec-ommended room size for full size table 22 ft × 16 ft, un-known date, (Retrieved 25 February 2007), (Archive Ver-sion)

[25] “What is Scoreboard in Snooker? Definition and Mean-ing”. sportsdefinitions.com.

[26] “WPBSA v TSN”, BBC Sport, 16 February 2001, (Re-trieved 25 February 2007), (Archive Version)

[27] “Snooker’s biggest break”, BBC Sport, 7 December 2000,(Retrieved 25 February 2007), (Archive Version)

[28] “Snooker authorities survive bid”, BBC Sport, 13 Novem-ber 2002, (Retrieved 25 February 2007), (Archive Ver-sion)

[29] “Snooker at the crossroads”, BBC Sport, 14 November2002, (Retrieved 25 February 2007), (Archive Version)

[30] “IBSF”, (Retrieved 24 February 2007), (Archive Version)

[31] WPBSA “Professional Tour ranking points”, WorldSnooker, (Retrieved 25 January 2010) Archived 5 January2012 at the Wayback Machine.

8 9 EXTERNAL LINKS

[32] “Swail targeting place in top 16”, BBC Sport, 1 August2006, (Retrieved 25 February 2007)

[33] “The Seeds of Success”, BBC Sport, 24 November 2000,(Retrieved 25 February 2007), (Archive Version)

[34] “The Tour 2010/2011 Season Provisional Qualifying Cri-teria”. worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiardsand Snooker Association. Archived from the original on6 January 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2010.

[35] “World title victory delights Dott”, BBC Sport, 2 May2006, (Retrieved 25 February 2007)

[36] “Huge financial blow hits snooker”, BBC Sport, 6 August2008, (Retrieved 6 August 2008)

[37] “Crucible event gets new sponsor”, BBC Sport, 15 January2006, (Retrieved 25 February 2007), (Archive Version)

[38] World Snooker Announcements: Betfred.com NamedTitle Sponsor for the World Snooker ChampionshipArchived 19 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine.

[39] “Doherty sets out to regain greatest prize”, The Indepen-dent, 20 April 2001, (Retrieved 25 February 2007)

[40] “World’s best ready for Crucible”, BBC Sport, 13 April2006, (Retrieved 25 February 2007), (Archive Version)

[41] “Snooker signs five-year BBC deal”, BBC Sport, 26 Octo-ber 2005, (Retrieved 25 February 2007), (Archive Ver-sion)

[42] “Eurosport pots TV snooker rights”, The Guardian, 27April 2006, (Retrieved 25 February 2007, registration orBugMeNot required)

[43] “Snooker finds new Masters sponsor”, BBC Sport, 13 Jan-uary 2006, (Retrieved 25 February 2007, (Archive Ver-sion)

[44] Harris, N. “An email conversation with GraemeDott: 'Weneed an Abramovich to take the game to a new level”,The Independent, 15 January 2007, (Retrieved 25 Febru-ary 2007)

[45] Ronay, B. “Too dull to miss”, The Guardian, 27 October2006, (Retrieved 25 February 2007)

[46] “Snooker bids to be included in 2020 Olympics in Tokyo”.BBC Sport. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.

[47] Snooker: Ronnie O'Sullivan warns of players burning out,The Independent, 7 May 2012.

[48] Milliken Industrials Limited - Woollen Speciality Prod-ucts. “Strachan snooker cloths - WSP Textiles - Billiardand Tennis cloths”.

[49] [Snooker], Cues Cues, 10 July 2013, (Retrieved 20 July2013), ()

[50] “O'Sullivan in exalted company”, BBC Sport, 10 May2002, (Retrieved 25 February 2007), (Archive Version)

[51] Hunter, P. “Putting in the practice”, BBC Sport, 5 Novem-ber 2004, (Retrieved 25 February 2007)

[52] “World Snooker Championship – History”, WorldSnooker Official Site, (Retrieved 9 April 2010) Archived13 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine.

[53] “Definitions of terms used in Snooker and English Bil-liards (search for snooker plus)". snookergames.co.uk.Snooker Games. Retrieved 9 April 2011.

[54] “Snooker Plus”. The Glasgow Herald. 27 October 1959.p. 10. Retrieved 9 April 2011.

9 External links• World Snooker Association

• International Billiards & Snooker Federation

• European Billiards & Snooker Association

• Scottish Snooker NGB for Snooker & Billiards inScotland

• LASE - Spanish Amateur League of Snooker

9

10 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

10.1 Text• Snooker Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snooker?oldid=707211365 Contributors: The Epopt, Bryan Derksen, Jeronimo, Andre

Engels, Scipius, William Avery, Imran, Heron, Camembert, Nommonomanac, Cyde, Rochus, Pcb21, Ahoerstemeier, Arwel Parry, An-gela, Александър, Julesd, Cimon Avaro, Trontonian, Havardk, DJ Clayworth, Maximus Rex, Jeffrey Smith, Gutsul, Jni, Robbot, Moriori,Naddy, Robinh, MykReeve, Hig Hertenfleurst, SoLando, SimonMayer, Marnanel, Jao, KelvSYC, Elf, Angmering, Dissident, Koyn~enwiki,Bradeos Graphon, Snowdog, David Johnson, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Dav4is, Duncharris, Yekrats, Solipsist, Deus Ex, Mooquackwooftweet-meow, Toby Woodwark, Wmahan, ChicXulub, Auximines, Geni, Stevenhasty, Sonjaaa, Bob.v.R, Lesgles, Narya, Tom french~enwiki,Thincat, Xadai~enwiki, Photonix, Ukexpat, Picapica, Grstain, Mike Rosoft, Duja, Bornintheguz, Brianhe, Solitude, Rich Farmbrough,Florian Blaschke, Bambers, Michael Zimmermann, Tinus, Jnestorius, Smallbone10, Brian0918, Bennylin, Kwamikagami, Mwanner,Theshowmecanuck, Barcex, Galterix, Bobo192, Wipe, Nickburns, Cmdrjameson, Johnteslade, Nicke Lilltroll~enwiki, Jguk 2, DaveG-orman, Pokrajac, Blotwell, Frodet, Wwylon, Mhjacobson, Alfanje~enwiki, NeoThermic, Jeltz, Chambem9, AzaToth, Velella, Javacava,RainbowOfLight, Bleeder, LukeSurl, Dan100, Georgia guy, TigerShark, Pink-isnt-well, Oliphaunt, Pol098, Kelisi, Torqueing, Yakob-bokay, Dysepsion, RichardWeiss, Shastrix, Graham87, RxS, -DjD-, Reisio, Search4Lancer, Rjwilmsi, Rogerd, Brighterorange, Andreas S.,Fred Bradstadt, Tommy Kronkvist, Mariocki, RobertG, Chingwakabungya, Flowerparty, RexNL, Ben-w, Gareth E. Kegg, Kernitou, Evito,Mstroeck, Raymond Cruise, Jawr256, DVdm, Ahpook, Mysekurity, The Rambling Man, YurikBot, Hairy Dude, X42bn6, Bhoeble, Hy-drargyrum, Stephenb, ForteTwo, Gaius Cornelius, CambridgeBayWeather, Ihope127, Bovineone, GeeJo, NawlinWiki, Grafen, Mccready,Irishguy, Bigpad, LucentPhoenix, El Pollo Diablo, Nick C, Epipelagic, SFC9394, Sgrieve, Someones life, Alanmorris, Cadillac, Kelovy,Deville, Mike Selinker, SMcCandlish, Symon, Bagheera, MartinUK, David Biddulph, GrinBot~enwiki, Pentasyllabic, SmackBot, DavidKernow, MrKWatkins, Bigbluefish, Jacek Kendysz, Eskimbot, Rojomoke, Gjs238, Septegram, Yamaguchi , Seb147, SteveO, Skizzik,Cs-wolves, Honbicot, JimmyMac82, Iancaddy, Thumperward, Goldfinger820, The359, Hmich176, Colonies Chris, Sct72, Trekphiler,Tsca.bot, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Polimeras, Racklever, Nixeagle, MDCollins, Echtoran, Fuhghettaboutit, Dreadstar, Bigsteeve,DMacks, The statman, Ged UK, ThurnerRupert, Esrever, NotMuchToSay, MarkC77, Iliev, SilkTork, NewTestLeper79, Kingfisherswift,Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, CaptainVindaloo, Enelson, Stuartfanning, 16@r, Fatmike~enwiki, Flipperinu, Sifaka, Andreworkney,Fasach Nua, Amjadabbas, Slicedoranges, Alexmr, Tawkerbot2, Pithecanthropus, Poolkris, Ashish20, Pattermeister, Ohthelameness, Alejrb, Pumbaa80, Ben Chaud, Erik Kennedy, WATP, Bryn B, WeggeBot, Chicheley, Douts, Pstuart84, JFreeman, Pete Davis, Wildnox,Throquzum, Gavpowell, Phillipmilnes, Newton2, Bigez, West Brom 4ever, StraussianNeocon, MichaelMaggs, RoboServien, Ju66l3r, An-tiVandalBot, Paste, Tangerines, Jj137, Atatton, DOSGuy, Magneto10, Bigjimr, JAnDbot, Deflective, Epeefleche, The editor king, MarkShaw, Rothorpe, Beaumont, Bencherlite, Magioladitis, Johnelwaq, Bongwarrior, VoABot II, JNW, Coffee4binky, Mark PEA, Asarpe,NimNick, LoneFox, Glen, DerHexer, American Pool Network (APN), Feanfan~enwiki, MartinBot, Dar2020, Promark, Paracel63, Sz-erkesztő, DavidZ, DavyJonesLocker, R'n'B, Glennobrien, Jossy89, AlphaEta, DandyDan2007, BillWSmithJr, Myredroom, Don B, Kud-pung, Glaux, Dawright12, AntiSpamBot, NewEnglandYankee, Juliancolton, Babajus, GrahamHardy, Nigej, VolkovBot, Daniel987600,TXiKiBoT, Oshwah, Tomsega, GDonato, Emonsmi, TheDarkPhantom, Eggman3, BotKung, Feudonym, Jpeeling, Mendors, Monty845,Wjl2, SieBot, Mikeo34, Dawn Bard, Srushe, Gabacho~enwiki, Oxymoron83, Dpbloglover, Denisarona, Martarius, ClueBot, Abc183,Deviator13, Iraqi mj, Sabbe, Carton828, Unbuttered Parsnip, Boing! said Zebedee, Glynandtess, DevilboyScooby, Kingoftherings, Kit-sunegami, Excirial, Crywalt, Dallas147, Estirabot, Samasnookerfan, CowboySpartan, Mike2807, K33wud, Mozzerb, K.a.foth, Katanada,Apparition11, Templarion, Hussash, XLinkBot, Wikiyuvraj, Skarebo, Kaiwhakahaere, Tmlim526, Luwilt, Addbot, Wikijulian~enwiki,Tanhabot, TutterMouse, EDDIEOWNZ, Cst17, Woyjenkins, Flogostud, Schweity55, LinkFA-Bot, 5 albert square, Mr-Ginge, Tassede-the, Ehrenkater, BrianKnez, WikiDreamer Bot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, KenelmJames, Becky Sayles, Charlessuckling, HandGrenadePins,Tempodivalse, Bbb23, AnomieBOT, Jfry3, 1exec1, Svendsved, Ivan Leung08, Davehughes182, Materialscientist, Jeeperscreepers214,,24أحمد.غامدي. MauritsBot, Xqbot, St.nerol, JimVC3, Bihco, Betty Logan, Wikify567, Jambornik, Armbrust, Khalilawwad, RibotBOT,Ardg08, Shadowjams, Haldraper, FrescoBot, Amreeky, Sky Attacker, JeneChauvin, Jasoncoolax, Ywmpq205, Newmanisthebest, Thefa-naticoneverything, MarB4, Biker Biker, Ash2kaye9, 10metreh, Khokhar7, Kgrad, Lightlowemon, Jugni, TobeBot, Trappist the monk, TháiNhi, Unrulyevil, Saint1997, Onel5969, Unioneagle, Ripchip Bot, Dannyboy1209, EmausBot, Solarra, Oyoyoy, Tommy2010, Rusty1111,K6ka,Whitney housten, Emshef, Lehtil, DeanoB864, Bartie1010, Vladimir Oskolkin, Brandmeister, Wonderwizard,Wtf hello, Tigerdoom,Orange Suede Sofa, Gcjdavid, ClueBot NG, Chrisminter, Fuji 151a, WagnerEASB, Widr, 1000Fast, Regulov, Thepoolkid, MusikAnimal,Stateofyolandia, BPositive, BlueFire10, DmitryYakunin, Kukac, Fifthman, The Almightey Drill, Toccata quarta, Worldsnooker147, Cyber-bot II, Rash1894, Snookseye, Skunkman3118, Dexbot, Nouniquenames, 331dot, Alikah23, AldezD, Jonhope123, Shervinesta, BlackMans-Burden, Rchrd h, Machdelu, Babitaarora, Nggt, Param Mudgal, ThinkerDreamer, Tom Screen, Mommydaddy101, Andy Calloway, Frankflynn jr, Impregnable, Fontana56, Michaelbrindley147, Kalicharann, Ethanaboss, Inno, Blind meat, Theofficialswagdaddy, Kurousagi, Sha-phieButt, Joregar, NeemNarduni2 and Anonymous: 594

10.2 Images• File:Chalk_stub.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Chalk_stub.png License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contribu-tors: Own work Original artist: Myself

• File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contribu-tors: ? Original artist: ?

• File:London_-_Royal_Automobile_Club_-_3024.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/London_-_Royal_Automobile_Club_-_3024.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Jorge Royan

• File:Portal-puzzle.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fd/Portal-puzzle.svg License: Public domain Contributors: ?Original artist: ?

• File:Snooker_break.ogg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Snooker_break.ogg License: CC BY-SA 3.0Contributors: Own work Original artist: SFC9394

• File:Snooker_rest_crop.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Snooker_rest_crop.JPG License: CC BY2.0 Contributors: Crop of http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilrickards/35174697/ Original artist: Neil Rickards

• File:Snooker_table_drawing_2.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Snooker_table_drawing_2.svg Li-cense: CC BY 2.5 Contributors: Own work (based on Pumbaa’s version) Original artist: Maciej Jaros (commons: Nux, wiki-pl: Nux)

10 10 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

• File:Snooker_table_selby.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Snooker_table_selby.JPG License: CCBY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: DmitryYakunin

• File:Stephen_Maguire,_Ronnie_O’Sullivan,_and_Michaela_Tabb_at_German_Masters_Snooker_Final_(DerHexer)_2012-02-05_05_cropped.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Stephen_Maguire%2C_Ronnie_O%E2%80%99Sullivan%2C_and_Michaela_Tabb_at_German_Masters_Snooker_Final_%28DerHexer%29_2012-02-05_05_cropped.jpgLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0 Contributors: This file was derived from Stephen Maguire, Ronnie O’Sullivan, and Michaela Tabb at GermanMasters Snooker Final (DerHexer) 2012-02-05 05.jpg: <a href='//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stephen_Maguire,_Ronnie_O%E2%80%99Sullivan,_and_Michaela_Tabb_at_German_Masters_Snooker_Final_(DerHexer)_2012-02-05_05.jpg' class='image'><imgalt='Stephen Maguire, Ronnie O’Sullivan, and Michaela Tabb at German Masters Snooker Final (DerHexer) 2012-02-05 05.jpg'src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/Stephen_Maguire%2C_Ronnie_O%E2%80%99Sullivan%2C_and_Michaela_Tabb_at_German_Masters_Snooker_Final_%28DerHexer%29_2012-02-05_05.jpg/50px-Stephen_Maguire%2C_Ronnie_O%E2%80%99Sullivan%2C_and_Michaela_Tabb_at_German_Masters_Snooker_Final_%28DerHexer%29_2012-02-05_05.jpg'width='50' height='33' srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/Stephen_Maguire%2C_Ronnie_O%E2%80%99Sullivan%2C_and_Michaela_Tabb_at_German_Masters_Snooker_Final_%28DerHexer%29_2012-02-05_05.jpg/75px-Stephen_Maguire%2C_Ronnie_O%E2%80%99Sullivan%2C_and_Michaela_Tabb_at_German_Masters_Snooker_Final_%28DerHexer%29_2012-02-05_05.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/Stephen_Maguire%2C_Ronnie_O%E2%80%99Sullivan%2C_and_Michaela_Tabb_at_German_Masters_Snooker_Final_%28DerHexer%29_2012-02-05_05.jpg/100px-Stephen_Maguire%2C_Ronnie_O%E2%80%99Sullivan%2C_and_Michaela_Tabb_at_German_Masters_Snooker_Final_%28DerHexer%29_2012-02-05_05.jpg 2x' data-file-width='4288' data-file-height='2848' /></a>Original artist: Stephen_Maguire,_Ronnie_O’Sullivan,_and_Michaela_Tabb_at_German_Masters_Snooker_Final_(DerHexer)_2012-02-05_05.jpg: DerHexer, Wikimedia Commons

• File:Studenten_Billard.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Studenten_Billard.JPG License: Publicdomain Contributors: R. A. Müller: Geschichte der Universität, 1990, S. 189 (Städtische Sammlungen Tübingen) Original artist:Unknown<a href='//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718' title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718' src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png' width='20' height='11' srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/40px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 2x' data-file-width='1050' data-file-height='590'/></a>

• File:To_pot_the_red.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/To_pot_the_red.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0Contributors: Own work Original artist: MichaelMaggs

• File:Wikinews-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Wikinews-logo.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0Contributors: This is a cropped version of Image:Wikinews-logo-en.png. Original artist: Vectorized by Simon 01:05, 2 August 2006 (UTC)Updated by Time3000 17 April 2007 to use official Wikinews colours and appear correctly on dark backgrounds. Originally uploaded bySimon.

• File:Wiktionary-logo-en.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Wiktionary-logo-en.svg License: Publicdomain Contributors: Vector version of Image:Wiktionary-logo-en.png. Original artist: Vectorized by Fvasconcellos (talk · contribs),based on original logo tossed together by Brion Vibber

• File:World_Snooker_Championship_Trophy_edited.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/World_Snooker_Championship_Trophy_edited.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors:

• World_Snooker_Chamionship_Trophy.JPG Original artist:

• derivative work: User:Tmv23 (<a href='//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Tmv23' title='User talk:Tmv23'>talk</a>) 16:15, 1December 2008 (UTC)

10.3 Content license• Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0