History of snooker
Encyclopedia
The game of snooker
is a cue sport which emerged in its modern form in the late 19th century, with roots going back to the 16th century form of English billiards
. Billiards was popular among the British Armed Forces
stationed in India
. As billiards was only a two player game, new games such as life pool
and pyramid pool
were developed in order to accommodate more players. Eventually, these two games were combined to form snooker.
was first played in the 16th century. It was known as a "gentleman's game" because of its popularity among royalty. The tables had no side rails, pockets, or cushions, but only contained holes for the balls to be potted. Every time that a pot was achieved, the ball would fall to the ground. The balls, which were made of ivory, were another difference from modern billiards.
In the 19th century, the sport became quite popular among the British Armed Forces
stationed in India
. Billiards was a two-man game in its original form, which was played with 3 balls, of which two were cue balls, one for each player. This led to the formation of multi-player versions. New versions included life pool
and pyramid pool
. Life pool involved several colored balls used as both cue balls and object balls. In pyramid pool, there were 15 red balls and a white cue ball, and each player received one point per red ball potted. Along with the new games being developed, the table was taking steps toward its current state.
Black pool
was the next version created. Black pool was similar to pyramid pool, except that the black ball from life pool was added to the game and could be potted for more points. In 1875, at the officers' mess in Jabalpur in the Central Provinces
, Colonel Sir Neville Francis Fitzgerald Chamberlain suggested adding the other coloured balls to the new version. The game was beginning to resemble snooker
in its current form, though the blue and brown balls were added in later years.
The name snooker came from a comment Chamberlain made about one of the players when the player missed a shot. Chamberlain called player "a real snooker", which referred to his lack of experience. "Snooker" was a slang term for a first year cadet. The first official set of rules for snooker were drafted in 1882 at Ootacamund
in Madras Province. When British Billiards Champion John Roberts
travelled to India
in 1885, he met Chamberlain and decided to introduce snooker to England
when he returned home.
helped to establish the first Professional World Championship
of snooker. Joe Davis won and took home the prize of £6.10. At that time, the standard of play was not very high considering that the highest break of that tournament was just 60. By the 1930s, Snooker
was becoming one of the most popular cue sports.
Joe Davis
continued to dominate the era, winning every World Championship
until his retirement in 1946. Between 1952 and 1957, a dispute among between the games' governing body, the Control Council, and the Billiards Association. As a result, only two people participated in the official World Championship, although an unofficial one was organized. At the time, the winner of the unofficial tournament was generally considered the best player in the world. During this time frame Horace Lindrum
won the official World Championship. Due to a decline in popularity, there were no world championships between 1958 and 1963.
launched the Pot Black
tournament, which proved to be very successful in helping put snooker back into public view. It was successful until it was discontinued in the 1980s, but a new version has been run in recent years. In 1972, at the age of 23, Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins clinched the first of his 2 World Titles and through a mixture of bravado, charisma and an ability to make headlines became the games first true "rock'n'roll superstar" who helped to popularise the sport in the new age of colour television.
The World Championship
was first televised in 1973. World Rankings
were introduced in 1976, and, in 1977, the World Championship was held in the Crucible Theatre
in Sheffield
, where it has been ever since. Daily television coverage of the World Championship began in 1978.
The 1980s capitalised on the sport's already growing popularity.
Steve Davis
dominated for much of the decade thanks to a smooth technique, all-round game, vast amounts of dedication and PR
savvy off the table from his ambitious manager Barry Hearn
.
Maverick left-hander Jimmy White
came along as a people's champion candidate very much in the mould of his good friend and idol Alex Higgins
.
The number of tournaments on the calendar was to increase further as from the 1984/1985 snooker season ITV
started to televise three new ranking events in the International
, Classic
and British Open
.
Snooker's finest hour and ultimate peak occurred at the 1985 World Snooker Championship Final as heavy favourite and 8-0 early leader Steve Davis
succumbed to an inspired comeback from Northern Ireland
veteran Dennis Taylor
. The 35th and deciding frame lasted for 68 minutes, and had a nation gripped as Taylor sunk the final black at 12.20am with a record audience of 18.5 million UK TV viewers who tuned in for the nail-biting climax.
Though the record viewing figure was never topped, the 1986 World Snooker Championship Final between Steve Davis and Bradford
underdog Joe Johnson
, in which Johnson surprisingly won 18-12, also drew a strong audience figure of 16 million UK TV viewers. In the build-up to the 1986 World Championship, infamous novelty anthem "Snooker Loopy
", recorded by Chas and Dave
featuring the Matchroom Mob (Barry Hearn
, Steve Davis
, Dennis Taylor
, Willie Thorne
, Terry Griffiths
and Tony Meo), hit number 6 in the UK Singles chart
.
The domestic success of Snooker continued to remain strong into the late 1980s. During this time, with the help of Barry Hearn
, tournaments were starting to expand globally into Europe
, Asia
and North America
. The 1988 Canadian Masters was the first ranking event to be staged outside the UK.
In December 1988, the invitational Matchplay (featuring the worlds top 12 players) was the first ever professional tournament to have a £100,000 winner's prize.
In the late 1980s, Steve Davis' dominance was starting to be challenged by future World Champion Stephen Hendry
.
By the end of the decade, there were more than 200 playing professionals on the circuit, a figure which increased to more than 400 professionals during the 1990s.
who went on to dominate for much of the decade. Hendry eclipsed many of Steve Davis' records including most World Championships, most ranking titles and most (BBC) major titles. Hendry's type of attacking, breakbuilding game which often clinched frames in one visit ushered in a new era of player. In 1993, at the age of 17, Ronnie O'Sullivan
became the youngest ever winner of a ranking event by beating Hendry himself at the 1993 UK Snooker Championship
Final.
Though the standard of snooker continued to rapidly increase, the immense popularity that Snooker enjoyed started to wane. ITV
stopped screening ranking events after the 1992 British Open
and during this period, much attributed to the economic recession, prize money totals started to stagnate or decrease for events outside the World Championship.
From the mid 1990s onwards, Snooker still enjoyed decent exposure thanks to BBC
continuing to televise the major events and the continuation of tobacco sponsorship. Due to the increasing restrictions or eventual ban on tobacco advertising in sport, Benson and Hedges last sponsored the invitational Masters in 2003 and Embassy's long-standing association with the World Championship concluded after the 2005 tournament.
With cutbacks necessary (due to loss of tobacco funding) and less events, the main tour roster was reduced to 96 professionals for the start of the 2005/2006 season.
Afterwards, the number of events on the circuit started to dwindle.However, since the loss of tobacco sponsorship, the online gaming and gambling industry has stepped in to sponsor numerous events on the snooker calendar. WPBSA chairman Sir Rodney Walker
was ousted in a vote of no confidence in December 2009 which cleared the path for longtime sports promoter Barry Hearn
to attempt to revitalise the sport.
was appointed Chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association which was reformed into a rules and regulatory body. In winning a players vote on 2 June 2010 by a margin of 35-29, Hearn also took control of World Snooker Ltd, which is the commercial arm of the sport. A number of new tournaments like the Player Tour Championship and Sky Shootout have been added to calendar. The Grand Prix tournament has been revamped the World Open.
One of the matters most relevant to the ousting of the previous WPBSA board and the return of Barry Hearn
was giving the players more playing and earning opportunities. In the 2009/2010 snooker season (pre Hearn) there were 6 ranking tournaments, added with invitationals the number of events on the calendar being at around 15 competitions in total that were open to most professionals. Those players lower down the rankings required second jobs to supplement their income as the game for them had become a part time
choir.
In contrast, the provisional calendar for the 2011/2012 season features 9 ranking tournaments, 13 minor ranking events under the Players Tour Championship
brand and 7 invitationals which include the traditional Wembley Masters and the shotclock Premier League. The calendar increasing to a record breaking 29 official World Snooker events. The sport now a full time
profession once again.
Format alterations such as Power Snooker
and Six Reds also include the very top players, with these type of tournaments added to mix, there could potentially be 35 events available on the circuit for the 2011/2012 season.
With an expanded tour scheduele, it will give players an option to pick and choose their events, similar to the practice in other sports like tennis
and golf
.
ITV
and Sky Sports
are seeking to broadcast more coverage of the sport once again.
More tournaments are scheduled to take place in Asia
in the coming years.
The current generation of top players remain Ronnie O'Sullivan
and John Higgins. In recent years, new global talents have emerged such as Australian Neil Robertson
and Ding Junhui
from China
. Multiple World Snooker Ladies champion Reanne Evans
was the first ever female to be granted a place on the main tour for the 2010/2011 snooker season.
The prize money fund for each season currently stands at £5 million ($8 million US dollars). The winner of the sports flagship World Championship
collects £250,000 ($400,000 US dollars)
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
is a cue sport which emerged in its modern form in the late 19th century, with roots going back to the 16th century form of English billiards
English billiards
English billiards, called simply billiards in many former British colonies and in Great Britain where it originated, is a hybrid form of carom and pocket billiards played on a billiard table. Billiards is less well known as "the English game", "the all-in game" and "the common game".The game is for...
. Billiards was popular among the British Armed Forces
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...
stationed in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. As billiards was only a two player game, new games such as life pool
Life pool
Life pool was a form of pocket billiards mainly played in the 19th century. It was one of several pool games that were popular at this time . The object of the game was to be the last player left "alive" and therefore scoop the pool...
and pyramid pool
Pyramid pool
Pyramid pool, also called pyramids, was a form of pocket billiards mainly played in the 19th century. It was one of several pool games that were popular at this time . This game had fifteen that were in a triangle, as in snooker today but without the six coloured balls...
were developed in order to accommodate more players. Eventually, these two games were combined to form snooker.
The beginning
BilliardsBilliards
Cue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards...
was first played in the 16th century. It was known as a "gentleman's game" because of its popularity among royalty. The tables had no side rails, pockets, or cushions, but only contained holes for the balls to be potted. Every time that a pot was achieved, the ball would fall to the ground. The balls, which were made of ivory, were another difference from modern billiards.
In the 19th century, the sport became quite popular among the British Armed Forces
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...
stationed in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Billiards was a two-man game in its original form, which was played with 3 balls, of which two were cue balls, one for each player. This led to the formation of multi-player versions. New versions included life pool
Life pool
Life pool was a form of pocket billiards mainly played in the 19th century. It was one of several pool games that were popular at this time . The object of the game was to be the last player left "alive" and therefore scoop the pool...
and pyramid pool
Pyramid pool
Pyramid pool, also called pyramids, was a form of pocket billiards mainly played in the 19th century. It was one of several pool games that were popular at this time . This game had fifteen that were in a triangle, as in snooker today but without the six coloured balls...
. Life pool involved several colored balls used as both cue balls and object balls. In pyramid pool, there were 15 red balls and a white cue ball, and each player received one point per red ball potted. Along with the new games being developed, the table was taking steps toward its current state.
Black pool
Black pool
Black pool was a form of pocket billiards mainly played in the 19th century. It was one of several pool games that were popular during this time. It was called this because gamblers pooled their bets at the start of play. This game had fifteen that were in a triangle, as in snooker today but...
was the next version created. Black pool was similar to pyramid pool, except that the black ball from life pool was added to the game and could be potted for more points. In 1875, at the officers' mess in Jabalpur in the Central Provinces
Central Provinces
The Central Provinces was a province of British India. It comprised British conquests from the Mughals and Marathas in central India, and covered parts of present-day Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra states. Its capital was Nagpur....
, Colonel Sir Neville Francis Fitzgerald Chamberlain suggested adding the other coloured balls to the new version. The game was beginning to resemble snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
in its current form, though the blue and brown balls were added in later years.
The name snooker came from a comment Chamberlain made about one of the players when the player missed a shot. Chamberlain called player "a real snooker", which referred to his lack of experience. "Snooker" was a slang term for a first year cadet. The first official set of rules for snooker were drafted in 1882 at Ootacamund
Ootacamund
Ootacamund , is a town, a municipality and the district capital of the Nilgiris district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Ootacamund is a popular hill station located in the Nilgiri Hills...
in Madras Province. When British Billiards Champion John Roberts
John Roberts, Jr. (billiards player)
John Roberts, Jr. was a dominant professional player of English billiards. He was also a notable manufacturer of billiards cues and tables, and promoter of the sport.-Early years:...
travelled to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1885, he met Chamberlain and decided to introduce snooker to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
when he returned home.
The early years
The first official competitions, the English Amateur Championships, took place in 1916. In 1927, Joe DavisJoe Davis
Joe Davis, OBE was a British professional player of snooker and English billiards....
helped to establish the first Professional World Championship
World Snooker Championship
The World Snooker Championship is the leading professional snooker tournament in terms of both prize money and ranking points. The first championship was held in 1927; since 1977, it has been played at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England...
of snooker. Joe Davis won and took home the prize of £6.10. At that time, the standard of play was not very high considering that the highest break of that tournament was just 60. By the 1930s, Snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
was becoming one of the most popular cue sports.
Joe Davis
Joe Davis
Joe Davis, OBE was a British professional player of snooker and English billiards....
continued to dominate the era, winning every World Championship
World Snooker Championship
The World Snooker Championship is the leading professional snooker tournament in terms of both prize money and ranking points. The first championship was held in 1927; since 1977, it has been played at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England...
until his retirement in 1946. Between 1952 and 1957, a dispute among between the games' governing body, the Control Council, and the Billiards Association. As a result, only two people participated in the official World Championship, although an unofficial one was organized. At the time, the winner of the unofficial tournament was generally considered the best player in the world. During this time frame Horace Lindrum
Horace Lindrum
Horace Lindrum was an Australian professional snooker and carom billiards player. He was the great grandson of Australia's first billiards champion, the grandson of the great billiard coach, Frederick William Lindrum II, and nephew of Frederick William Lindrum III and Walter...
won the official World Championship. Due to a decline in popularity, there were no world championships between 1958 and 1963.
Rise in popularity
In 1969, the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
launched the Pot Black
Pot Black
Pot Black was a British series of snooker tournaments televised by BBC, that played a large part in the popularisation of the modern game, from 1969 to 1986. The event was revived in the form of several one-off tournaments throughout the 1990s and up to 2007...
tournament, which proved to be very successful in helping put snooker back into public view. It was successful until it was discontinued in the 1980s, but a new version has been run in recent years. In 1972, at the age of 23, Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins clinched the first of his 2 World Titles and through a mixture of bravado, charisma and an ability to make headlines became the games first true "rock'n'roll superstar" who helped to popularise the sport in the new age of colour television.
The World Championship
World Snooker Championship
The World Snooker Championship is the leading professional snooker tournament in terms of both prize money and ranking points. The first championship was held in 1927; since 1977, it has been played at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England...
was first televised in 1973. World Rankings
Snooker world rankings
The snooker world rankings are the official system of ranking professional snooker players to determine automatic qualification and seeding for tournaments on the World Snooker Tour. They are maintained by the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association...
were introduced in 1976, and, in 1977, the World Championship was held in the Crucible Theatre
Crucible Theatre
The Crucible Theatre is a theatre built in 1971 and located in the city centre of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. As well as theatrical performances, it is home to the most important event in professional snooker, the World Snooker Championship....
in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, where it has been ever since. Daily television coverage of the World Championship began in 1978.
The 1980s capitalised on the sport's already growing popularity.
Steve Davis
Steve Davis
Steve Davis, OBE is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire...
dominated for much of the decade thanks to a smooth technique, all-round game, vast amounts of dedication and PR
PR
PR commonly stands for* Public relations, a field concerned with maintaining public image* Puerto Rico* Proportional representation, a property of some voting systemsPR, P...
savvy off the table from his ambitious manager Barry Hearn
Barry Hearn
Barry Hearn is an English sporting events promoter, and the founder and chairman of promotions company Matchroom Sport. He is currently the chairman of Leyton Orient F.C., and the Professional Darts Corporation and was also until July 2010 chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker...
.
Maverick left-hander Jimmy White
Jimmy White
James Warren "Jimmy" White MBE is an English professional snooker player. Nicknamed the "Whirlwind" and popularly referred to as the "People's Champion", White is a multiple World Championship finalist renowned for losing each of the six finals he contested.White's extensive list of achievements,...
came along as a people's champion candidate very much in the mould of his good friend and idol Alex Higgins
Alex Higgins
Alexander Gordon "Alex" Higgins , also known by his nickname of Hurricane Higgins, was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who was twice World Champion and twice runner-up. Higgins earned the nickname The Hurricane because of his speed of play...
.
The number of tournaments on the calendar was to increase further as from the 1984/1985 snooker season ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
started to televise three new ranking events in the International
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
, Classic
Classic
The word classic means something that is a perfect example of a particular style, something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality. The word can be an adjective or a noun . It denotes a particular quality in art, architecture, literature and other cultural artifacts...
and British Open
British Open
The British Open is the Open Championship men's golf tournament.British Open may also refer to:* Women's British Open of golf* British Open Show Jumping Championships* British Open Squash Championships...
.
Snooker's finest hour and ultimate peak occurred at the 1985 World Snooker Championship Final as heavy favourite and 8-0 early leader Steve Davis
Steve Davis
Steve Davis, OBE is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire...
succumbed to an inspired comeback from Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
veteran Dennis Taylor
Dennis Taylor
Dennis Taylor is a retired snooker player, and current BBC snooker commentator. Winner of two ranking events, he is best known for winning the 1985 World Championship, beating World number one Steve Davis on the final black in one of the sport's most memorable finals...
. The 35th and deciding frame lasted for 68 minutes, and had a nation gripped as Taylor sunk the final black at 12.20am with a record audience of 18.5 million UK TV viewers who tuned in for the nail-biting climax.
Though the record viewing figure was never topped, the 1986 World Snooker Championship Final between Steve Davis and Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
underdog Joe Johnson
Joe Johnson (snooker player)
Joe Johnson is an English former professional snooker player. He is best known as the surprise winner of the 1986 World Championship.- Career :...
, in which Johnson surprisingly won 18-12, also drew a strong audience figure of 16 million UK TV viewers. In the build-up to the 1986 World Championship, infamous novelty anthem "Snooker Loopy
Snooker Loopy
"Snooker Loopy" is a humorous song which was released as a single in May 1986 and entered the UK Singles Chart, reaching #6. It was written and performed by Chas & Dave and featured snooker players Steve Davis, Dennis Taylor, Willie Thorne, Terry Griffiths and Tony Meo, as backing vocalists under...
", recorded by Chas and Dave
Chas and Dave
Chas & Dave are an English pop rock duo, most notable as creators and performers of a musical style labelled "rockney", which mixes "pub singalong, music-hall humour, boogie-woogie piano and pre-Beatles rock 'n' roll"...
featuring the Matchroom Mob (Barry Hearn
Barry Hearn
Barry Hearn is an English sporting events promoter, and the founder and chairman of promotions company Matchroom Sport. He is currently the chairman of Leyton Orient F.C., and the Professional Darts Corporation and was also until July 2010 chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker...
, Steve Davis
Steve Davis
Steve Davis, OBE is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire...
, Dennis Taylor
Dennis Taylor
Dennis Taylor is a retired snooker player, and current BBC snooker commentator. Winner of two ranking events, he is best known for winning the 1985 World Championship, beating World number one Steve Davis on the final black in one of the sport's most memorable finals...
, Willie Thorne
Willie Thorne
William Joseph "Willie" Thorne , is a former English professional snooker player and now a sports commentator.Thorne became national under-16 champion at both snooker and English billiards in 1970...
, Terry Griffiths
Terry Griffiths
Terrence "Terry" Griffiths OBE is a retired Welsh snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. He won the World Championship in 1979 at the first attempt, and reached the 1988 final. He also won the Masters in 1980 and the UK Championship in 1982, making him one of seven players to have...
and Tony Meo), hit number 6 in the UK Singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
The domestic success of Snooker continued to remain strong into the late 1980s. During this time, with the help of Barry Hearn
Barry Hearn
Barry Hearn is an English sporting events promoter, and the founder and chairman of promotions company Matchroom Sport. He is currently the chairman of Leyton Orient F.C., and the Professional Darts Corporation and was also until July 2010 chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker...
, tournaments were starting to expand globally into Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. The 1988 Canadian Masters was the first ranking event to be staged outside the UK.
In December 1988, the invitational Matchplay (featuring the worlds top 12 players) was the first ever professional tournament to have a £100,000 winner's prize.
In the late 1980s, Steve Davis' dominance was starting to be challenged by future World Champion Stephen Hendry
Stephen Hendry
Stephen Gordon Hendry, MBE is a Scottish professional snooker player. In 1990, he was the youngest-ever snooker World Champion, at the age of 21. He has won the World Championship a record seven times and was snooker's world number one for eight consecutive years between 1990 and 1998, and again...
.
By the end of the decade, there were more than 200 playing professionals on the circuit, a figure which increased to more than 400 professionals during the 1990s.
Standards rise, popularity slides
A new generation of players came to the fore in the 1990s, most notably Stephen HendryStephen Hendry
Stephen Gordon Hendry, MBE is a Scottish professional snooker player. In 1990, he was the youngest-ever snooker World Champion, at the age of 21. He has won the World Championship a record seven times and was snooker's world number one for eight consecutive years between 1990 and 1998, and again...
who went on to dominate for much of the decade. Hendry eclipsed many of Steve Davis' records including most World Championships, most ranking titles and most (BBC) major titles. Hendry's type of attacking, breakbuilding game which often clinched frames in one visit ushered in a new era of player. In 1993, at the age of 17, Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style and nicknamed "The Rocket". He has been World Champion on three occasions , and is second on the all-time prize-money list, with career earnings of over £6 million, behind only Stephen...
became the youngest ever winner of a ranking event by beating Hendry himself at the 1993 UK Snooker Championship
1993 UK Snooker Championship
The 1993 Royal Liver Assurance UK Championship professional ranking snooker tournament took place at the Guildhall, Preston starting on 12 November and TV stages were shown on BBC between 20 and 28 November 1993...
Final.
Though the standard of snooker continued to rapidly increase, the immense popularity that Snooker enjoyed started to wane. ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
stopped screening ranking events after the 1992 British Open
British Open
The British Open is the Open Championship men's golf tournament.British Open may also refer to:* Women's British Open of golf* British Open Show Jumping Championships* British Open Squash Championships...
and during this period, much attributed to the economic recession, prize money totals started to stagnate or decrease for events outside the World Championship.
From the mid 1990s onwards, Snooker still enjoyed decent exposure thanks to BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
continuing to televise the major events and the continuation of tobacco sponsorship. Due to the increasing restrictions or eventual ban on tobacco advertising in sport, Benson and Hedges last sponsored the invitational Masters in 2003 and Embassy's long-standing association with the World Championship concluded after the 2005 tournament.
With cutbacks necessary (due to loss of tobacco funding) and less events, the main tour roster was reduced to 96 professionals for the start of the 2005/2006 season.
Afterwards, the number of events on the circuit started to dwindle.However, since the loss of tobacco sponsorship, the online gaming and gambling industry has stepped in to sponsor numerous events on the snooker calendar. WPBSA chairman Sir Rodney Walker
Rodney Walker (rugby league)
Sir Rodney Walker KBE is a British sports administrator.He was Chairman of Wakefield Trinity RLFC between 1986 and 1993; the Rugby Football League between 1993 and 2002; GB Sports Council between 1994 and 1996; Sport England between 1996 and 1998 and UK Sport between 1997 and 2003.In the Birthday...
was ousted in a vote of no confidence in December 2009 which cleared the path for longtime sports promoter Barry Hearn
Barry Hearn
Barry Hearn is an English sporting events promoter, and the founder and chairman of promotions company Matchroom Sport. He is currently the chairman of Leyton Orient F.C., and the Professional Darts Corporation and was also until July 2010 chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker...
to attempt to revitalise the sport.
Future
Barry HearnBarry Hearn
Barry Hearn is an English sporting events promoter, and the founder and chairman of promotions company Matchroom Sport. He is currently the chairman of Leyton Orient F.C., and the Professional Darts Corporation and was also until July 2010 chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker...
was appointed Chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association which was reformed into a rules and regulatory body. In winning a players vote on 2 June 2010 by a margin of 35-29, Hearn also took control of World Snooker Ltd, which is the commercial arm of the sport. A number of new tournaments like the Player Tour Championship and Sky Shootout have been added to calendar. The Grand Prix tournament has been revamped the World Open.
One of the matters most relevant to the ousting of the previous WPBSA board and the return of Barry Hearn
Barry Hearn
Barry Hearn is an English sporting events promoter, and the founder and chairman of promotions company Matchroom Sport. He is currently the chairman of Leyton Orient F.C., and the Professional Darts Corporation and was also until July 2010 chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker...
was giving the players more playing and earning opportunities. In the 2009/2010 snooker season (pre Hearn) there were 6 ranking tournaments, added with invitationals the number of events on the calendar being at around 15 competitions in total that were open to most professionals. Those players lower down the rankings required second jobs to supplement their income as the game for them had become a part time
Part time
A part-time job is a form of employment that carries fewer hours per week than a full-time job. Workers are considered to be part time if they commonly work fewer than 30 or 35 hours per week...
choir.
In contrast, the provisional calendar for the 2011/2012 season features 9 ranking tournaments, 13 minor ranking events under the Players Tour Championship
Players Tour Championship
The Players Tour Championship is a snooker series comprising 12 regular events and a Grand Final. Each event lasts for at least three days, with a qualifying event for amateurs should the event be oversubscribed...
brand and 7 invitationals which include the traditional Wembley Masters and the shotclock Premier League. The calendar increasing to a record breaking 29 official World Snooker events. The sport now a full time
Full time
Full-time employment is employment in which the employee works the full number of hours defined as such by his/her employer. Full-time employment often comes with benefits that are not typically offered to part-time, temporary, or flexible workers, such as annual leave, sickleave, and health...
profession once again.
Format alterations such as Power Snooker
Power snooker
Power Snooker is a variant of the cue sport snooker, first played competitively in July 2010 in the United Kingdom.The promoter of World snooker Barry Hearn stated Power Snooker is "designed to be faster and more exciting" than the traditional format of snooker. Players compete in time-limited ...
and Six Reds also include the very top players, with these type of tournaments added to mix, there could potentially be 35 events available on the circuit for the 2011/2012 season.
With an expanded tour scheduele, it will give players an option to pick and choose their events, similar to the practice in other sports like tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
.
ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
and Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
are seeking to broadcast more coverage of the sport once again.
More tournaments are scheduled to take place in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
in the coming years.
The current generation of top players remain Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style and nicknamed "The Rocket". He has been World Champion on three occasions , and is second on the all-time prize-money list, with career earnings of over £6 million, behind only Stephen...
and John Higgins. In recent years, new global talents have emerged such as Australian Neil Robertson
Neil Robertson (snooker player)
Neil Robertson is an Australian professional snooker player and the 2010 World Champion and World #4...
and Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui is a Chinese professional snooker player. Ding Junhui is China's most successful player ever, having become only the second teenager, after John Higgins, to win three ranking titles...
from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Multiple World Snooker Ladies champion Reanne Evans
Reanne Evans
Reanne Evans is a female English professional snooker player. She is the reigning WLBSA World Ladies Snooker Champion, having won the title for the seventh successive year in April 2011...
was the first ever female to be granted a place on the main tour for the 2010/2011 snooker season.
The prize money fund for each season currently stands at £5 million ($8 million US dollars). The winner of the sports flagship World Championship
World championship
A world championship is the top achievement for any sport or contest. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best nation, team, individual in the world in a particular field. Certain sports do not have a world championship, instead...
collects £250,000 ($400,000 US dollars)