The Sporting Craze of Snooker and Pool

Snooker is becoming a much more popular sport attracting many more spectators and participants 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 more people are joining snooker teams and beginning to play snooker in their local areas, the popularity stems from the fact that snooker is a social sport, doesn't take up too much and can be played at almost any time of day or night.

Despite what many people think snooker is actually a relatively new sport compared to other similar activities 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. Similarly to billiards snooker quickly become the most popular sport of the 1930's and 40's 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.

For many years the UK was the most popular country for snooker, however in recent times China have shown a large interest in the sport and have some of the world's top 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 played in colder 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 taking part in a local snooker team or even just playing at your leisure, you will need a good quality snooker cue in order to be successful. The majority of people don't realise that there is an extensive range of snooker cues on the market today. 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 confident enough to join a snooker team, there are also a variety of pool teams all over the country. Pool is generally considered as the easier and less competitive form of snooker. As pool tables are much smaller than snooker tables, the sport is generally suited to younger players or beginners. 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.

Similarly to snooker you will need a good quality pool cue in order to play the game successfully. 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.