Snooker is one of the billiard games that has become increasingly popular in recent years. The number of followers of this game, which is getting more and more popular with each passing day, is too high to be underestimated. So how is this game played? What are the rules? How did it come about? Everything you need to know about this enjoyable game is in our article.
What is snooker?
snooker, 19. and It is a game of billiards popular in Britain from the 20th century. It is played with 22 balls. One of these balls is white and 15 of them are red. The remaining 6 balls are of different colors. The object of the game is to use the cues to get the balls into the 6 holes on the table with certain rules and sequences. When all of the balls on the table are finished, the player with the most points wins that hand. The player who has won more sets when the predetermined number of sets has been played wins the game.
How to Play Snooker?
In the game that starts with 22 balls, the white ball is the cue ball that the players hit. In order to score more points, players must be able to put one of the colored balls into the hole immediately after hitting one of the 15 red balls in the game. As the colored balls are missing, the referees fill their places with new colored balls. This continues until the red balls on the table are gone.
The sets of this game are called frames. According to the format of the match, the player who wins more frames than his opponent can reach wins the game. For example, in a game played over nine frames, if a player wins five frames, they win the game.
The most important way to earn frames is for players to make series. Although there are 15 red balls, each of them is worth 1 point. So the red balls don’t mean much on their own. Being able to throw a colored ball immediately after throwing a red ball allows players to score more points. The point values of the 6 colored balls in the game are 7 points for black, 6 points for pink, 5 points for blue, 4 points for brown, 3 points for green and 2 points for yellow.
Players make a series by inserting red, colored, red and colored balls into the holes in order. In this way, they can both gain points and reduce the points that can be taken on the table, allowing their opponents to leave that frame.
One of the tricks of the game is “snooker”, which gives the game its name. If a player thinks that the remaining balls on the table do not have enough points to catch up with his opponent, he can leave the snooker with a defensive shot and wait for his opponent to make a mistake. The aim here is to cause the opponent to receive penalty points by making mistakes such as sending white into the pocket, hitting the wrong ball or not hitting the next ball.
History of Snooker
Billiards games, 19. It was very popular in the army of Great Britain in India in the 19th century. Players were creating new games by making various changes to the games. Black pool, on the other hand, was the closest game to snooker. In the black pool game, the black balls were potted after the red balls to get the highest score. 19. Towards the end of the century, colored balls were added to this game and it turned into snooker.
John Roberts came to India in 1885 as the British black pool champion. Roberts, who met snooker here, introduced the game to Britain when he returned from India. In 1916, championships began to be organized. In 1927, the first Snooker World Championship was held with the help of a billiards player, Joe Davis. Joe Davis won this tournament and all World Championships until his retirement in 1946.
In the 1950s, the interest in the snooker game began to decline. Due to the decreasing interest, the tournament could not be held in some years. However, in 1969, the BBC channel started a new snooker tournament called Pot Black to show its color broadcasts to its audience. With these publications, people’s interest in snooker started to rise again.
Snooker developed rapidly around the world after 1975. In 1977, the world ranking was determined for the first time. After the popularity of the game, players are now able to earn serious money. 18.5 million people watched the 1985 World Championship, which is considered the pinnacle of snooker. According to surveys, the 1985 Snooker World Championship is one of the most memorable broadcasts by the BBC.
Necessary Equipment
The length of the table where snooker is played is approximately 350 cm and the width is approximately 180 cm. The cues used by the players are usually made of ash wood. The length of the cues is around 140-150 cm. Professional tournaments require players to dress according to fixed dress codes. Tournament outfit consists of a suit with a vest, a shirt closed with a bow tie or tie, and leather shoes. Each player must abide by these dress code in the same way.
Snooker Terms
Frame: The name given to each set in matches
Pot: Players send balls into holes called pockets
Rest: The apparatus used by the players to reach the ball in positions where they cannot reach the ball.
Safe Kick: A shot made not to put the ball in the pocket, but to avoid positioning the opponent.
Snooker: Defensive shot by players hiding the target ball to make their opponents mistake
Snooker Legends
Joe Davis
British pool player Joe Davis, born on April 15, 1901, is considered the father of snooker. He introduced snooker, which he had seen from British soldiers in India, to Britain. He played a major role in making snooker what it is today by bringing important innovations such as taking a break during the game. In 1927, he persuaded the Billiards Association and the Control Council and ensured that the first World Snooker Championship was held. He won all World Championship tournaments from then until 1946. Joe Davis still holds the title of the only undefeated player in the history of the World Snooker Championship.
Alex Higgins
Born in Belfast on 18 March 1946, Alex Higgins started playing billiards at age 11. He won the Northern Ireland Amateur Snooker Championship in 1968. With this victory, he became the youngest player to win this tournament. He participated in his first World Championship in 1972. He became the champion by beating John Spencer 37-32 in the final and became the youngest winner of the World Snooker Championship. Alex Higgins has won more than 20 titles during his career. He was nicknamed Hurricane Higgins for his fast play. With its popularity, it played a major role in spreading snooker to a very large audience. Higgins is still known in England as the “People’s Champion”.
Steve Davis
Steve Davis, one of the game’s most iconic characters, was born on August 22, 1957 in London. He turned professional in 1978. Steve Davis, who played 8 finals and won 6 world championships in 9 years, left his mark on snooker in the 80s. He did not leave the first place in the world rankings to anyone for 7 years in a row. The famous snooker player lost to Dennis Taylor in the 1985 final with the last ball. During his career, he won 5.5 million pounds from the tournaments he participated in. Steve Davis also made history in 1982 with his 147-point streak, the first maximum run in professional matches. Davis was named the BBC Sportsman of the Year in 1988, becoming the first snooker player to receive this title.
Stephen Henry
Scottish snooker player Stephen Hendry was born on 19 January 1969 in Edinburgh. Hendry managed to engrave his name in the history of snooker in golden letters by winning the 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1999 World Snooker Championships. At the age of 21, he won the 1990 World Championship, making him the youngest snooker champion ever owned by Alex Higgins. He earned the nickname “iceman” with his success in long matches and his controlled game. Until 2014, he shared the title of the player with the most 147 points, together with Ronnie O’Sullivan, and lost this title to Sullivan in 2014. Stephen Hendry is portrayed as the Joe Davis of modern snooker.
Ronnie O’Sullivan
The English snooker player was born on December 5, 1975. The famous athlete, who turned professional at the age of 16, won 38 matches after turning professional. He faced Mick Price in the first qualifying match of the 1997 World Snooker Championship. In this match, he showed that he was the fastest snooker player by making the maximum series in 5 minutes and 20 seconds. Ronnie O’Sullivan was World Snooker Champion in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2020. During his career, he had the title of the player who made the most hundred series in history by making 1092 series of hundreds. He achieved the leadership in this field by making the maximum series of 147 points 15 times. Snooker genius cue Ronnie O’Sullivan was declared the most talented player in snooker history by snooker legends Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis.
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