Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a 12 x 6-foot baize-coloured English billiards table. It is derived from billiards and originated towards the end of 19th century. Joe Davis organised the world’s first snooker championship in 1927. After the retirement of Joe Davis in 1946, the game went into a period of decline for about 20 years. In 1969, snooker gained popularity again due to the broadcasting of snooker matches in colour. Today, snooker is a popular game in most Commonwealth countries.
The English billiard table used for snooker has six pockets, one at each corner and one in the centre of each long-sided cushion rail. Snooker is a two-player game played using 21 snooker balls and one cue ball. Among the 21 snooker balls, 15 are red object balls and the balance includes six balls of different colours. The one cue ball is white. Each snooker ball carries different point values. Internationally, the size of a snooker and cue ball is fixed as 52.5mm in diameter.
A game of snooker requires several accessories, such as a chalk which is rubbed on the tip of the cue, a triangle to place the balls in position before the game starts, rests for the cues and the scoreboard. In a snooker match, points are won by potting balls in the pockets in a predefined order. A snooker match has a predefined number of frames and the player who wins the maximum number of frames is declared the winner.
Generally, snooker matches consist of a smaller number of frames than a match in the Snooker World Championship, which consists of 35 frames. Such matches can last for up to two days or more. A player in a snooker match can be fouled if they hit a black ball or coloured ball when he/she was attempting to pot a red. In such a case, their opponent wins points ranging between four and seven. There can be several other reasons for making a foul in a snooker match, such as potting the white cue ball, or failing to escape from a “snooker”. Overall, snooker is a very exciting cue sport.
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