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The Cue Sports Portal
Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as cushions. Cue sports are also collectively referred to as billiards, though this term has more specific connotations in some varieties of English.
There are three major subdivisions of games within cue sports:
- Carom billiards, played on tables without pockets, typically ten feet in length, including straight rail, balkline, one-cushion carom, three-cushion billiards, artistic billiards, and four-ball
- Pocket billiards (or pool), played on six-pocket tables of seven, eight, nine, or ten-foot length, including among others eight-ball (the world's most widely played cue sport), nine-ball (the dominant professional game), ten-ball, straight pool (the formerly dominant pro game), one-pocket, and bank pool
- Snooker, English billiards, and Russian pyramid, played on a large, six-pocket table (dimensions just under 12 ft by 6 ft), all of which are classified separately from pool based on distinct development histories, player culture, rules, and terminology.
Billiards has a long history from its inception in the 15th century, with many mentions in the works of Shakespeare, including the line "let's to billiards" in Antony and Cleopatra (1606–07). Enthusiasts of the sport have included Mozart, Louis XIV of France, Marie Antoinette, Immanuel Kant, Napoleon, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, George Washington, Jules Grévy, Charles Dickens, George Armstrong Custer, Theodore Roosevelt, Lewis Carroll, W. C. Fields, Babe Ruth, Bob Hope, and Jackie Gleason. (Full article...)
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The 2020 World Snooker Championship (officially the 2020 Betfred World Snooker Championship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 31 July to 16 August 2020 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 44th consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship was held at the Crucible. The final ranking event of the 2019–20 snooker season, the tournament was originally scheduled to take place from 18 April to 4 May 2020, but both the qualifying stage and the main rounds were postponed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was one of the first to allow live audiences since the onset of the pandemic, but on the first day it was announced that the event would be played behind closed doors for subsequent days. A limited number of spectators were allowed in for the final two days of the championship.
The tournament was organised by the World Snooker Tour, a subsidiary of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, and was broadcast by the BBC, Eurosport and Matchroom Sport. The event had a total prize fund of £2,395,000, with the winner receiving £500,000. Qualifying for the tournament was due to be held between 8 and 15 April 2020 but instead took place from 21 to 28 July at the English Institute of Sport, Sheffield. There were 128 participants in the qualifying rounds, with a mix of professional and invited amateur players, 16 of whom reached the main stage of the tournament where they played the top 16 players in the snooker world rankings. The event was sponsored by sports betting company Betfred. (Full article...) -
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Snooker (pronounced UK: /ˈsnuːkər/ SNOO-kər, US: /ˈsnʊkər/ SNUUK-ər) is a cue sport played on a rectangular billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. First played by British Army officers stationed in India in the second half of the 19th century, the game is played with twenty-two balls, comprising a white cue ball, fifteen red balls, and six other balls—a yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, and black—collectively called the colours. Using a cue stick, the individual players or teams take turns to strike the cue ball to pot other balls in a predefined sequence, accumulating points for each successful pot and for each time the opposing player or team commits a foul. An individual frame of snooker is won by the player who has scored the most points. A snooker match ends when a player reaches a predetermined number of frames.
In 1875, army officer Neville Chamberlain, stationed in India, devised a set of rules that combined black pool and pyramids. The word snooker was a well-established derogatory term used to describe inexperienced or first-year military personnel. In the early 20th century, snooker was predominantly played in the United Kingdom where it was considered a "gentleman's sport" until the early 1960s, before growing in popularity as a national pastime and eventually spreading overseas. The standard rules of the game were first established in 1919 when the Billiards Association and Control Club was formed. As a professional sport, snooker is now governed by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. (Full article...) -
Image 3The 1988 World Snooker Championship, also known as the 1988 Embassy World Snooker Championship for sponsorship reasons, was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 16 April to 2 May 1988 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), it was the sixth and final ranking event of the 1987–88 snooker season and the twelfth consecutive World Snooker Championship to be held at the Crucible, the first tournament there having taken place in 1977.
A five-round qualifying event for the championship was held at the Preston Guild Hall from 22 March to 2 April 1988 for 113 players, 16 of whom reached the main stage, where they met the 16 invited seeded players. The tournament was broadcast in the United Kingdom by the BBC, and was sponsored by the Embassy cigarette company. The winner received £95,000 from the total prize fund of £475,000. (Full article...) -
Image 4The 2019 WPA World Ten-ball Championship was a professional pool tournament for the discipline of ten-ball organised by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) and CueSports International. It was the fifth WPA World Ten-ball Championship; the previous championship was held in 2015. After plans for an event in both 2016 and 2018 to be held in Manila fell through, a 2019 event at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas as part of a three-year deal for the event to be played in the United States was agreed. The event was held concurrently with the Billiard Congress of America's National Ten-ball event from July 22 to 26. The event was sponsored by cue manufacturer Predator Group.
The competition featured 64 participants, selected according to world and continental pool rankings as well as qualifying events. The tournament was played as a double-elimination bracket until 16 players remained, at which point it changed to a single-elimination format. Ko Ping-chung, representing Chinese Taipei, won the event, defeating German player Joshua Filler 10–7 in the final. Ko's brother Ko Pin-yi, who was the defending champion, lost to Filler 10–8 in the semi-final. The event featured a prize fund of $132,000, the winner receiving $30,000. (Full article...) -
Image 5The 1987 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the 1987 Embassy World Snooker Championship for the purpose of sponsorship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 18 April and 4 May 1987 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the sixth and final ranking event of the 1986–87 snooker season. The championship was the 1987 edition of the World Snooker Championship, first held in 1927, and had 32 participants. The highest ranked 16 players were awarded a place in the first round draw, whilst a pre-tournament qualification event for 104 professionals was held between 26 March and 4 April at the Preston Guild Hall for the remaining places. The tournament was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy and had a prize fund of £400,000 with the winner receiving £80,000.
Since his 1986 victory, Joe Johnson had experienced a disappointing season leading up to the 1987 Championship, and bookmakers considered it unlikely that he would retain the title. Johnson did reach the final, a rematch of the previous year's final against Steve Davis. Davis won his fourth championship by defeating Johnson 18 frames to 14. A total of 18 century breaks were made during the tournament, the highest of which was 127 made by Davis in first frame of the final. Stephen Hendry, aged 18, became the youngest player to win a match in the tournament's history since it moved to the Crucible in 1977, whilst it was the last time that six-times champion Ray Reardon appeared. (Full article...) -
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The 2020 Masters (officially the 2020 Dafabet Masters) was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place at Alexandra Palace in London, England, from 12 to 19 January 2020. It was the 46th staging of the Masters tournament, which was first held in 1975, and the second of three Triple Crown events in the 2019–20 season, following the 2019 UK Championship and preceding the 2020 World Snooker Championship. The event invites the top sixteen players from the snooker world rankings in a knockout tournament. It was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association and was broadcast by the BBC and Eurosport in Europe.
Judd Trump was the defending champion, having defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan 10–4 in the final of the previous year's event. Trump lost to Shaun Murphy 3–6 in the first round. O'Sullivan was eligible to compete, but chose not to participate, so his entry was given to Ali Carter, next on the world ranking list. Carter reached the final, where he played Stuart Bingham; recovering from 5–7 behind, Bingham won the final 10–8 to claim his first Masters title. He became the oldest Masters champion at the age of 43 years and 243 days, beating the previous record set by Ray Reardon in 1976; Bingham remained the tournament's oldest winner until 2024, when O'Sullivan won the title aged 48 years and 40 days. (Full article...) -
Image 7The 2014 World Snooker Championship (officially the 2014 Dafabet World Snooker Championship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 19 April to 5 May 2014 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 38th consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship had been held at the Crucible. The tournament was also the last ranking event of the 2013–14 snooker season. The event was sponsored by Dafabet for the first time. A qualifying tournament was held from 8 to 16 April 2014 at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield for 16 players, who met 16 seeded participants at the main championships.
Ronnie O'Sullivan was the defending champion, having won the previous year's event by defeating Barry Hawkins in the final. Mark Selby won the 2014 event to capture his first world title by defeating O'Sullivan 18–14 in the final. This was Selby's fourth ranking title, also completing the Triple Crown of World Championship, UK Championship, and Masters titles. Neil Robertson compiled the highest break of the tournament, a 140, and scored his 100th century break of the season in his quarter-final win over Judd Trump. The event featured a prize fund of £1,214,000, the winner receiving £300,000. (Full article...) -
Image 8The 2019 Champion of Champions (officially the 2019 ManBetX Champion of Champions) was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 4 and 10 November 2019 at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, England. It was the ninth Champion of Champions event, the first of which was held in 1978. The tournament featured 16 participants who had won World Snooker events throughout the prior snooker season. In 2019, the Women's World Champion competed at the tournament for the first time. As an invitational event, the Champion of Champions tournament carried no world ranking points.
Ronnie O'Sullivan was the defending champion having defeated Kyren Wilson 10–9 in the final of the 2018 event. O'Sullivan lost 5–6 to Neil Robertson in the semi-finals. Robertson defeated reigning world champion Judd Trump 10–9 in the final to win the championship, having required foul shots in the penultimate frame to avoid losing the match. There were 20 century breaks during the tournament, eight of which were made in the final. Mark Allen compiled the highest break of the tournament, a 140, in his semi-final loss to Trump. The tournament's total prize fund was £440,000, the winner receiving £150,000. (Full article...) -
Image 9The 2020 Tour Championship (officially the 2020 Coral Tour Championship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 20 to 26 June 2020, at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England. Organised by the World Snooker Tour, it was the second edition of the Tour Championship and the third and final event of the second season of the Coral Cup. It was the 16th and penultimate ranking event of the 2019–20 snooker season following the Gibraltar Open and preceding the World Championship. The tournament was originally scheduled for 17 to 22 March 2020, but on the morning of 17 March the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following advice from the UK government, it had been decided that no spectators would be permitted at the event.
The draw for the Tour Championship comprised the top eight players based on the single year ranking list. The event was contested as a single-elimination tournament, with each match played over a minimum of two sessions and the final being a best-of-19-frames match. The winner of the tournament won £150,000 out of a total prize fund of £380,000. The event was sponsored by betting company Coral. (Full article...) -
Image 10The 2021 World Snooker Championship (officially the 2021 Betfred World Snooker Championship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 17 April to 3 May 2021 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 45th consecutive year the World Snooker Championship was held at the Crucible Theatre and the 15th and final ranking event of the 2020–21 snooker season. It was organised by the World Snooker Tour. The event was sponsored by sports betting company Betfred and broadcast by the BBC, Eurosport and Matchroom Sport. It featured a total prize fund of £2,395,000 of which the winner received £500,000.
Qualifying for the tournament took place between 5 and 14 April 2021 at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield. There were 128 participants in the qualifying rounds, consisting of a mix of professional and invited amateur players. The main stage of the tournament featured 32 players: the top 16 players from the snooker world rankings and an additional 16 players from the qualifying rounds. Ronnie O'Sullivan was the defending champion, having won his sixth world title at the previous year's event, where he defeated Kyren Wilson 18–8 in the final. O'Sullivan lost in the second round to Anthony McGill 12–13. Mark Selby defeated Shaun Murphy 18–15 in the final to win his fourth world title and the 20th ranking title of his career. There were a record 108 century breaks made at the Crucible, with an additional 106 made in qualifying rounds. The tournament's highest break was 144 by Murphy in the second round. (Full article...)
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Barry Pinches (born 13 July 1970 in Catton, Norwich) is an English former professional snooker player, recognisable for his bright and flamboyant waistcoats, which usually feature the yellow and green colours of Norwich City F.C. He is a former top 32 player and ranking-event quarter-finalist. He has compiled over 100 century breaks in his career. He has also made one maximum break. (Full article...) -
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Karen Corr (born 10 November 1969) is a Northern Irish professional pool and former snooker and English billiards player. She was inducted in the BCA Hall of Fame in 2012. (Full article...) -
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Anthony McGill (born 5 February 1991) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He is a practice partner of retired snooker player Alan McManus.
McGill turned professional in 2010, after finishing fourth in the 2009/2010 PIOS rankings. He won the 2016 Indian Open, after having previously never been beyond the quarter-final stage of a ranking event. (Full article...) -
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Ralf Souquet (/suːˈkɛ/ soo-KEH; born 29 November 1968) is a German professional pool player. His nickname is "The Kaiser". Souquet is considered one of the greatest pool players of all time.
Since 1988, he has won more than 200 tournament titles, including 23 Euro Tour titles, 20 European Pool Championship and 12 German Pool Championship. Souquet is a two-time world champion, winning the 2008 WPA World Eight-ball Championship and 1996 WPA World Nine-ball Championship. (Full article...) -
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Dallas West (born 1941, Rockford, Illinois) is an American pool player and was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1996.
West is known for having a strong competitive spirit and is respected by his peers as being a gentleman player. He has the distinction of being the only player to compete in every one of the BCA U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship up until 2000.
In May 1997, Dallas West made a ball on the break without scratching on each of his 11 breaks en route to an 11-1 victory over John Duclos. (Full article...) -
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The World Snooker Championship is the longest-running and most prestigious tournament in professional snooker. It is also the richest, with total prize money of £2,395,000 in 2023, including £500,000 for the winner. First held in 1927, it is now one of the three tournaments (together with the UK Championship and the invitational Masters) that make up snooker's Triple Crown Series. The reigning world champion is Kyren Wilson.
Joe Davis dominated the tournament over its first two decades, winning the first 15 world championships before he retired undefeated after his final victory in 1946. The distinctive World Championship trophy, topped by a Greek shepherdess figurine, was acquired by Davis in 1926 for £19 and continues in use to this day. No tournaments were held between 1941 and 1945 due to World War II, or between 1952 and 1963 due to a dispute between the Professional Billiards Players' Association (PBPA) and the Billiards Association and Control Council (BACC). The PBPA held an unofficial alternative, the World Professional Match-play Championship, between 1952 and 1957. The official championship was revived on a challenge basis in 1964.
The World Snooker Championship reverted to a knockout tournament format in 1969, beginning what is now known as snooker's modern era. It has taken place annually since then, with every championship since 1977 staged at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. Under a format that has remained largely unchanged since 1982, 32 players reach the Crucible each year; the top 16 players in the world rankings qualify automatically, while another 16 players win places through a qualification tournament. Only three qualifiers have ever won the tournament: Alex Higgins in 1972, Terry Griffiths in 1979, and Shaun Murphy in 2005. (Full article...) -
Image 7Danny DiLiberto (born in Buffalo, New York) is an American retired professional pool player nicknamed "Buffalo Danny".
A veteran player from the Johnston City era, a teacher, an author, and previously working as a commentator for Accu-Stats, DiLiberto is an active member of the pocket billiards community. He was elected into the One Pocket Hall of Fame in 2004 for his "outstanding contribution to the legacy of the game of one pocket". (Full article...) -
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Lou Butera (May 15, 1937 – June 25, 2015) was an American professional pool player (then retired and operated a pool hall) and an inductee into the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame in 1986.
His nickname, "Machine Gun Lou", derives from his stunning the crowd and fellow competitors by running 150-and-out in straight pool in under 25 minutes against his opponents.
He gained exposure to the masses in 1981 and 1982 when he appeared in network trick shot competitions on CBS and ABC. (Full article...) -
Image 9Dorothy Wise (1914–1995) was an American professional pool player. She was born in Spokane, Washington. When she first started playing pool professionally, there were very few national tournaments for women. She won many local and state tournaments, so she called herself the world champion. The first national tournament for women happened in 1967. She won and kept winning for the next five years. She lost the title in 1972. She played in the final against 13-year-old Jean Balukas.
She became a member of the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1981. She was the first woman to be made a member.
Dorothy learned to play pool from her husband, Jimmy Wise. He managed billiard parlors (where people play pool) in several cities around the western United States. He watched Dorothy win the first national championship in 1967, but died later that year. (Full article...) -
Image 10The "Crucible curse" (also known as "The curse of the Crucible") is a quip in professional snooker, referring to the fact that no first-time winner of the World Snooker Championship has retained the title since the tournament moved to Sheffield's Crucible Theatre in 1977. Beginning with the 1979 champion Terry Griffiths, who lost in the second round of the 1980 event, 19 first-time world champions have failed to defend their titles, although Joe Johnson and Ken Doherty made it to the final the year after their maiden victories. Most recently, the 2023 champion Luca Brecel lost in the first round of the 2024 World Snooker Championship. Kyren Wilson, winner of the 2024 event, is yet to attempt to break the Crucible curse.
Several world champions successfully defended their first title in the pre-Crucible era; the last to do so was John Pulman in 1964. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch
- ... that the Highfield Cocoa and Coffee House in Sheffield, England, sold tea, coffee and cocoa at a penny a pint and also provided billiards and reading rooms?
- ... that the final of the 2009 IBSF women's snooker championship was interrupted so that drug tests could be conducted on the players?
- ... that Kyren Wilson won the first four frames in all of his snooker matches at the 2023 Tour Championship?
- ... that the 1947 World Snooker Championship was the first world snooker championship where the winner wasn't Joe Davis?
- ... that during a match at the snooker 2021 UK Championship, player Mark Williams fell asleep?
- ... that John Spencer won a World Snooker Championship on his first attempt in 1969?
- ... that Gary Wilson threw his snooker cue to the floor in anger at the 2022 UK Championship?
- ... that both finalists at the 2008 World Snooker Championship made maximum breaks during the tournament?
Related portals and projects
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Stephen Maguire (born 13 March 1981) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won six major ranking tournaments, including the 2004 UK Championship, and has twice since reached the finals of that event. Maguire turned professional in 1998 after winning the IBSF World Snooker Championship. He was in the top 16 of the snooker world rankings for 11 consecutive years, from 2005 to 2016, twice reaching world no. 2. He is a prolific break-builder, having compiled over 500 century breaks, including three maximums. (Full article...) -
Image 2The Tour Championship is a professional snooker tournament first held in 2019. The event features the twelve (previously eight) highest ranked players on the one-year ranking list, which reflects prize money won at ranking events since the beginning of the season. The Tour Championship is the third and final tournament in the Players Series, following the World Grand Prix and the Players Championship. The event features a prize fund of £380,000, with the winner receiving £150,000. The tournament is broadcast by ITV Sport in the United Kingdom and Eurosport across the rest of Europe. The reigning champion is Mark Williams, who won the 2024 Tour Championship with a 10–5 win over Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final. (Full article...)
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Image 3The 1929 World Snooker Championship, known at the time as the Professional Championship of Snooker, was a snooker tournament held between 17 December 1928 and 7 March 1929 at various venues in England, with the final taking place from 4 to 7 March 1929 at the Lounge Hall, Nottingham. Defending champion Joe Davis won the title for the third time by defeating Tom Dennis by 19 frames to 14 in the final, after securing a winning margin at 17–12.
It was the third edition of the World Snooker Championship. The first round match was held at Loughborough Town Hall, and the venue for the semi-finals was Camkin's Hall, Birmingham. The highest break of the tournament was 61, a new championship record, compiled by Davis in the 23rd frame of the final. (Full article...) -
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Straight pool, which is also called 14.1 continuous and 14.1 rack, is a cue sport in which two competing players attempt to pocket as many object balls as possible without playing a foul. The game was the primary version of pool played in professional competition until it was superseded by faster-playing games like nine-ball and eight-ball in the 1980s.
In straight pool, the player may call and attempt to pocket any object ball on the table regardless of its number or color until only one object ball and the cue ball remain, at which point the other fourteen balls are re-racked. At this point, play resumes with the objective of pocketing the remaining ball in a manner that causes the cue ball to carom into the rack, spreading out the balls and allowing the player to continue the run. The goal is to reach a set number of points that is determined by agreement before the game begins; traditionally 100 points is needed for a win, though professional matches may go higher. One point is scored by pocketing an object ball without a foul, while a point is deducted on a foul. (Full article...) -
Image 5The 2006 UK Championship (officially the 2006 Maplin UK Championship) was the 2006 edition of the UK Championship, a professional snooker tournament that is one of the sport's three Triple Crown events. It was held from 4 to 17 December 2006 at the Barbican Centre in York, North Yorkshire. The competition was the third of seven World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) ranking events in the 2006/2007 season and the 30th edition of the tournament. It was broadcast in the United Kingdom and Europe on the BBC and Eurosport.
Peter Ebdon won the tournament, defeating the five-time UK champion Stephen Hendry 10 frames to 6 in the final. It was Ebdon's first UK Championship win and his seventh career ranking title. He was the ninth player in history to win both the UK Championship and the World Snooker Championship. In the semi-finals Ebdon beat John Higgins 9–7 and Hendry defeated fellow Scot Graeme Dott by the same scoreline. David Gray and Mark King both achieved the tournament's highest breaks with individual breaks of 146. The tournament followed the Grand Prix and preceded the Malta Cup. (Full article...) -
Image 6The Dynamic Billard Leende Open 2019 (sometimes known as the 2019 Netherlands Open) was a nine-ball pool tournament, and the first Euro Tour event of 2019. The event was held between 7–10 February 2019, at the Golden Tulip Jagershorst hotel in Leende, Netherlands. The event was won by Germany's Joshua Filler, who defeated Ruslan Chinakhov 9–7 in the final. This was Filler's first Euro Tour win, having previously been a runner-up at three previous events.
Shane Van Boening was the defending champion, having defeated Eklent Kaçi 9–8 in the final of the 2018 Leende Open. Van Boening, however did not take part in the 2019 competition. (Full article...) -
Image 7The 2004 British Open was the 2004 edition of the British Open snooker tournament, held from 8 to 14 November 2004 at Brighton Centre, Brighton, England. John Higgins won the tournament, defeating Stephen Maguire nine frames to six in the all-Scottish final to lift his first ranking-event title since the 2001 edition of this event. In the semi-finals, Higgins defeated Shaun Murphy 6–0 and Maguire defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan 6–1. The defending champion Stephen Hendry lost in the quarter-finals. Higgins made the highest tournament break with his two breaks of 144. The tournament was the second of eight WPBSA ranking events in the 2004/2005 snooker season, following the Grand Prix in October, which was won by O'Sullivan. It preceded the third ranking event of the season, the UK Championship. (Full article...)
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Image 8The 2021 British Open (officially the 2021 Matchroom.live British Open) was a professional snooker event played from 16 to 22 August 2021 at the Morningside Arena, Leicester, England. It was the 2021 edition of the British Open event, and the first since the 2004 British Open. It was the second ranking event of the 2021–22 snooker season, following the 2021 Championship League and preceding the 2021 Northern Ireland Open. It was broadcast by ITV Sport in the UK, and sponsored by Matchroom Sport. The winner received £100,000 from a total prize pool of £470,000.
All rounds in the tournament were played after a random draw made under a single-elimination tournament format with no seeded players. The first four rounds, from the last 128 to the last 16, were played as best-of-five frame matches, the quarter-finals and semi-finals as best-of-seven-frame matches, and the final played as the best-of-eleven frames. John Higgins, the defending champion from 2004, lost 1–3 to Ricky Walden in the third round. Mark Williams defeated Gary Wilson 6–4 in the final to win the 24th ranking title of his career. The event featured 32 century breaks, including two maximum breaks. Higgins made his 12th maximum break in professional competition in the first frame of his first-round win over Alexander Ursenbacher, and Ali Carter made his third maximum break in the second frame of his fourth-round match against Elliot Slessor. (Full article...) -
Image 9The 1980 World Snooker Championship, officially known as the 1980 Embassy World Snooker Championship for sponsorship reasons, was a ranking professional snooker tournament that took place from 22 April to 5 May 1980 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The tournament was the 1980 edition of the World Snooker Championship and was the fourth consecutive world championship to take place at the Crucible Theatre since 1977. It was authorised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. The total prize fund for the tournament was £60,000, of which £15,000 went to the winner.
There were 53 entrants to the competition, although four later withdrew. Qualifying rounds for the tournament took place at Romiley Forum, Stockport, from 5 to 18 April 1980; at the Redwood Lodge Country Club, Bristol, from 11 to 16 April; and at Sheffield Snooker Centre from 12 to 17 April. The main stage of the tournament featured 24 players: the top 16 players from the snooker world rankings and another eight players from the qualifying rounds. Ray Edmonds, Jim Meadowcroft, Tony Meo, Cliff Wilson and Jim Wych made their Crucible debuts. The defending champion and top seed in the tournament was Terry Griffiths, who had defeated Dennis Taylor 24–16 in the 1979 final. (Full article...) -
Image 10The 1927 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament held at several venues from 29 November 1926 to 12 May 1927. At the time, it was titled the Professional Championship of Snooker but it is now recognised as the inaugural edition of the World Snooker Championship. The impetus for the championship came from professional English billiards player Joe Davis and billiard hall manager Bill Camkin, who had both observed the growing popularity of snooker, and proposed the event to the Billiards Association and Control Council. Ten players entered the competition, including most of the leading English billiards players. The two matches in the preliminary round were held at Thurston's Hall in London, and the semi-finals and final took place at Camkin's Hall in Birmingham. The players involved determined the venues for the quarter-finals, resulting in matches in London, Birmingham, Nottingham and Liverpool.
The final took place from 9 to 12 May 1927. Joe Davis won the title by defeating Tom Dennis by 20 frames to 11. Davis had led 7–1 following the first day's play and had achieved a winning margin at 16–7. The highest break of the tournament was 60, compiled by Albert Cope in the 21st frame of his match against Davis. It remained the highest break in the Championship until Davis made a 61 in the 1929 final. The same trophy awarded to Davis is still presented to the world champion each year. (Full article...)
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Image 2alt=Blue snooker ball (from Snooker)
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Image 3alt=Brown snooker ball (from Snooker)
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Image 5A full-size snooker table set up for the start of a game (from Snooker)
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Image 6alt=Red snooker ball (from Snooker)
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Image 7A sliding scoreboard, some blocks of cue-tip chalk, white chalk-board chalk, and two cue sticks (from Snooker)
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Image 8alt=Yellow snooker ball (from Snooker)
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Image 9alt=Pink snooker ball (from Snooker)
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Image 10Ronnie O'Sullivan has won the World Championship seven times in the 21st century. (from Snooker)
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Image 11A pool table diagram (from Pool (cue sports))
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Image 12Paul Gauguin's 1888 painting Night Café at Arles includes a depiction of French billiards (from Carom billiards)
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Image 13Illustration A: Aerial view of a snooker table with the balls in their starting positions. The cue ball (white) may be placed anywhere in the semicircle (known as the "D") at the start of the game. (from Snooker)
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Image 15Dutch pool player Niels Feijen at the 2008 European Pool Championship (from Pool (cue sports))
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Image 16alt=Green snooker ball (from Snooker)
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Image 17The Family Remy by Januarius Zick, c. 1776, featuring billiards among other parlour activities (from Carom billiards)
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Image 18alt=Black snooker ball (from Snooker)
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Image 19A set of standard carom billiard balls, comprising a red object ball, one plain white cue ball, and one dotted white cue ball (replaced in modern three-cushion billiards by a yellow ball) for the opponent (from Carom billiards)
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Image 20Balkline table with standard markings (from Carom billiards)
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Image 21Historic print depicting Michael Phelan's Billiard Saloon located at the corner of 10th Street and Broadway in Manhattan, 1 January 1859 (from Carom billiards)
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Image 22A close-up view of a cue tip about to strike the cue ball, the aim being to pot the red ball into a corner pocket (from Snooker)
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Image 23A complete set of snooker balls (from Snooker)
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Image 25A player racking the balls (from Pool (cue sports))
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Cue sports portal The rules of games in italics are standardized by international sanctioning bodies. |
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Early events | |
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Match-play | |
Challenges | |
Knock-outs | |
Crucible era | |
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Tournaments | |
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Active professional snooker tournaments | |
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Ranking events | |
Non-ranking events | |
Seniors events |
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