Snooker is a cue sport played on a large table with pockets, where two players take turns trying to pot balls in a set order to build a higher score than their opponent. It grew out of billiards in the 19th century and remains especially popular in the United Kingdom, though ranking events now take players to China, the Middle East and beyond. The sport’s world governing body is the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, generally known as the WPBSA, while the World Snooker Tour organises the professional circuit and its events.
Objective
Each player aims to score more points than their opponent within a frame by potting balls with a cue ball, following a strict sequence between red and coloured balls. A match is usually played over a set number of frames, and the player who wins the most frames wins the match. Because points come only from potting in the correct order, careful positional play and safety shots matter as much as potting ability.
Rules and regulations
- A player must first pot a red ball, then nominate and pot a colour, then return to reds, continuing this pattern until no reds remain.
- Once all reds are gone, the colours must be potted in a fixed order: yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and finally black.
- A player’s turn, called a break, continues as long as they keep potting the correct ball; missing or fouling ends the turn and passes the table to the opponent.
- Fouls, such as hitting the wrong ball first or sending the cue ball into a pocket, hand penalty points to the opponent.
- The official rules are maintained by the WPBSA and applied consistently across professional, amateur and televised tournaments.
Equipment and playing area
- A full-size snooker table measures 12 feet by 6 feet, with six pockets, and is covered in a green baize cloth over a slate bed.
- Play uses one white cue ball, fifteen red balls and six coloured balls, each with a fixed value and starting position on the table.
- Players use a cue, typically around 145 centimetres long, to strike the cue ball, sometimes with a rest to help reach balls that are otherwise out of comfortable range.
Scoring
- Reds are worth 1 point each, while the colours are worth 2 for yellow, 3 for green, 4 for brown, 5 for blue, 6 for pink and 7 for black.
- A maximum break, potting all fifteen reds with black followed by all six colours, is worth 147 points and remains the highest score achievable in a single visit to the table.
- Frames end once all the balls are potted or a player concedes, and the overall match winner is decided by whoever reaches the required number of frame wins first.
