snooker loopy
Whether it’s watching at home or playing at one of London’s many dedicated venues, snooker is great fun, says Tom Brett
Be it sport or a game, no one can deny snooker deserves its place in British sporting history. It’s a British tradition that only 25 years ago had a total of 18.5 million TV viewers engrossed in the final frame of the 1985 World Championship; you could easily visit London today and not even know it exists.
Although quintessentially British, snooker’s popular in English-speaking Commonwealth countries like Canada and Australia, and there are professional tournaments as far away as Malta and China. The sport continues to make headlines in China as the success of Marco Fu and Ding Junhui escalates worldwide.
Like pool, it’s played on a rectangular table with six pockets. The main differences are that the table’s larger and the games are much longer. Instead of just potting the balls, players must a pot a red followed by a specific colour — yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and finally black — in order to accrue points. Tactics are also a major part of the game as safety play can bring an element of guile and deception into each frame. Beginners may find the large table and tight pockets of a snooker table a little daunting, but those who fancy the challenge should visit a snooker club or pub. Snooker’s a lot more serious than pool, and it’s rather rewarding witnessing a carefully lined-up pot trickle into a tiny pocket.
The most important dates in the 2011 calendar are 21 April-7 May, when the World Championship takes place at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield (about three hours by train from London). A plethora of smaller tournaments take place in the capital: the best places to find out about them is to ask at a local club.
Contrary to popular belief, the nickname Big Ben actually refers to the great bell of Westminster's clock tower rather than the clock itself. Construction of the tower was completed in 1859, with the first strikes of the bell heard on 31 May of that year.
