Snooker

Snooker is a billiards sport that is played on a large (12' X 6') baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long cushions. It is played using a cue, one white ball (the cue ball), 15 red balls and 6 colours: a yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black ball worth from two to seven points. A player wins a frame of snooker by scoring more points than his opponent, through using the cue ball to pot all the red and coloured balls. A match consists of an agreed number of frames. Snooker is particularly popular in English-speaking countries (Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia, India and South Africa), and there has recently been a surge of interest in East Asia, with players from Thailand, Hong Kong and China entering the rankings.

Tournaments

The most important event in professional snooker is the Embassy 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.

Related Topics:
Embassy - World Championship - 1927 - Crucible Theatre - Sheffield - England - 1977

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

However, due to the fact that Tobacco companies are no longer allowed to sponsor sporting events after 2005, the World Snooker Championship will have another sponsorship deal. Talk about the whereabouts of the event, which is usually in Sheffield, have confirmed that it will stay there for several more years, until a new location is decided.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~