The Rise and Fall of Snooker and Pool
Snooker is becoming an increasingly popular sport that is attracting more and more spectators and participators each year. The world snooker championships held each year in Sheffield, see the world’s most talented snooker players from around the globe battle it out in front of sell out crowds. Many people are joining snooker teams up and down the country, snooker attracts many players as matches generally don’t take up loads of time and they can take place pretty much any time of day or evening.
Many people think of snooker is an old fashioned sport, when in fact it is relatively new compared with similar sports such as billiards. As a sport, billiards dates back to the early 1300’s and snooker wasn’t derived until the early 1800’s. The first ever snooker tournament actually didn’t take place until 1916 with the first English amateur championships. World snooker was then later introduces in 1927. It wasn’t long before snooker became the most popular sport in the 1930s era. In the late 60’s the hype for the sport continued to increase when the BBC began televising live snooker championships and in the late 70’s rankings of the top world players were a popular craze for spectators.
Snooker has always primarily been most popular in the UK, however in recent years China have shown an increasing amount of interest in the sport and also have some of today’s most talented world players. Experts have said that the future of snooker belongs to China, as Britain is beginning to struggle with the sport financially in terms of sponsorship. However, this is debateable and despite the slight decline in professional snooker, amateur snooker will no doubt retain its popularity in pubs and clubs across the country.
Although it may not be the most active sport, there are an increasing amount of snooker teams in towns, villages and cities up and down the country. Snooker is often favourably played in winter months, as it is played in the warmth of a cosy club or pub. Unlike other sports it can also be a good method of socialising and meeting new people and unlike sports such as, football and rugby where there are set time limits, snooker games can be a relatively short game depending on the player’s abilities.
When joining your local snooker or even just playing for fun, you will need a high quality cue in order to play successfully. Many people are unaware of the wide range of snooker cues on offer. For instance you can select either 1, 2 or ¾ jointed snooker cues that are made from a variety of different woods such as, Snakewood, Mexican rosewood or Cocobolo. You can also purchase jump and break cues, which are specifically designed for specific snooker shots.
For those who don’t feel they have a high enough ability to join a snooker team there are also plenty of pool teams around the country. Pool is generally considered as the easier and less competitive form of snooker. Pool tables are much smaller than snooker tables, making them ideal for younger and beginner players. Pool tables are also affordably priced and are ideal to put in garages and game rooms for performing practice shots and creating fun competitions between friends and family.
Like snooker, to play pool successfully, you will need a good quality cue. There are many different styles of pool cues on the market such as, American pool cues, which are generally larger and telescopic pool cues, which you can adjust to your preferred length. When starting a new sport you need to be sure you have the right equipment, you wouldn’t play a game of football with a flat ball and you shouldn’t play a game of snooker or pool with the wrong cue.
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