Snooker facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Snooker

Three-time world champion Mark Selby playing a practice game
Highest governing body	WPBSA IBSF
First played	1870 in India
Characteristics
Contact	Non-contact
Type	Cue sport
Equipment	Snooker table, snooker balls, cue, triangle, chalk
Venue	Snooker table
Presence
Olympic	IOC recognition
World Games	2001 – present

Snooker is a fun billiards game played by two people. It takes place on a large table, about 12 feet long and 6 feet wide. This table is covered with a smooth green cloth called baize. There are six holes, called pockets, on the table: one in each corner and one in the middle of each long side.

Players use a long, thin stick called a cue to hit a white ball, known as the cue ball. The goal is to hit other balls, called target balls, into the pockets. You must always hit the cue ball first to start your shot.

How to Play Snooker

The Balls and Their Points

There are 21 target balls in a game of snooker.

• There are 15 red balls, and each one is worth 1 point.
• There are 6 coloured balls, each with a different value:
  • Yellow: 2 points
  • Green: 3 points
  • Brown: 4 points
  • Blue: 5 points
  • Pink: 6 points
  • Black: 7 points

Scoring Points and Winning

To score points, you need to hit the target balls into the pockets. This is called 'potting' a ball. You must pot the balls in a specific order.

First, you pot a red ball. After potting a red, you then try to pot any one of the coloured balls. Once you pot a colour, it is placed back on the table. Then, you go back to potting another red ball. This continues until all the red balls are potted.

After all 15 red balls are gone, you then pot the coloured balls in a specific order, from lowest to highest value:

• Yellow (2 points)
• Green (3 points)
• Brown (4 points)
• Blue (5 points)
• Pink (6 points)
• Black (7 points)

These coloured balls are not put back on the table once they are potted in this final stage. The player who scores the most points wins the game, which is called a 'frame'. A snooker match is made up of an agreed number of frames.

History of Snooker

Snooker was invented in India by British Army officers. It started around 1870. The game grew from other cue sports like billiards. Over time, it became very popular around the world.

Famous Snooker Players

Many great players have become famous in snooker.

• Steve Davis was a top player in the 1980s. He won the World Championship six times.
• Ronnie O'Sullivan is another very famous player. He has won the World Championship seven times in the 21st century.
• Mark Selby is also a well-known champion, having won the World Championship three times.

These players are known for their amazing skill and precision on the snooker table.

Images for kids

• 

  A full-size snooker table set up for the start of a game

• 

  A complete set of snooker balls

• 

  A sliding scoreboard, some blocks of cue-tip chalk, white chalk-board chalk, and two cue sticks

• 

  A 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.

• 

  World Snooker Championship trophy

• 

  Steve Davis won the World Championship six times in the 1980s.

• 

  Ronnie O'Sullivan has won the World Championship seven times in the 21st century.

See also

In Spanish: Snooker para niños