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Snooker facts

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Snooker facts

Snooker facts

  • Snooker was first played in 1875 by a group of British officers stationed in India. The lashing monsoons would often leave the men with nothing to do but play billiards, and they ended up experimenting with the rules until the new game of snooker was born.

  • Neville Chamberlain invented snooker. No, not the Prime Minister who led Britain at the start of World War Two. This Neville Chamberlain was the colonial officer who got the credit for creating snooker, although other officers were involved in its evolution from billiards.

  • The word ‘snooker’ was originally military slang for raw, inexperienced army recruits. This was why Neville Chamberlain once called an opponent ‘a regular snooker’ for missing an easy shot. The word stuck, and was soon taken on as the name of the game.

  • Some would say Steve Davis, others Stephen Hendry, but most snooker experts would vote for Joe Davis as the greatest player of all time. Not only dominating the game from 1927 to 1946, it was his flair and celebrity that led to snooker overtaking billiards in popularity.

  • It may be a male-dominated game, but there’s been a professional women’s snooker association since 1981. Lack of funding has recently put its future under threat, however. Steve Davis and Jimmy White have slung their heavyweight names behind the campaign for the sport’s survival.

  • The 1985 World Championship Final is regarded as the greatest match in the history of the game. With twists, turns, and a dramatic end just after midnight, the battle between Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor received higher viewing figures than any televised sport before then. Taylor won.

  • It may be one of the more restrained sports, but even snooker’s had its streakers. Take Diane Philips, the topless 22 year old who stormed the 2000 British Open and kissed both players before being nabbed by security.

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