WHY IS SNOOKER SO POPULAR TODAY?
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
WHY IS SNOOKER SO POPULAR TODAY?
Snooker’s legacy is in good hands. We are not just talking about the fact that the sport has its niche following, high-prize tournaments, and many talented players who are happy to pitch in and show us some world-class action. Rather, the game’s pure numbers have been increasing to the point where even sceptics are beginning to realize that snooker is not in decline, it’s just the opposite.
While it once was a costly past-time earmarked for the higher castes of society, snooker is very accessible today. It’s fairly cheap to play and quite easy to get started on a career of snooker without sacrificing too much in terms of time and effort. In fact, the popularity of snooker has spawned a strong betting community around the sport, and you can check snooker betting odds where people come to pick and back their favourite player.
Surely, the popularity – growing or otherwise – of a sport cannot rely on just having a few places to make a wager. Good news, it does not! The game has grown quite accessible, and many people get started with snooker as a way of the hobby before they discover a hidden talent for the game within.
1. A Social Game with Plenty of Accessibility
As mentioned before, snooker wasn’t readily available. Today, the venues that offer snooker are plenty and the skills you need to excel boil down to practice. While you can naturally use a lot of tools, coaches and resources to train yourself to be a great snooker player, most players who get into the game do so out of love for the very concept of the game.
Therefore, having a lot of people interested in the game should not entirely surprise anyone. If anything, snooker has come a long way, and that is great if you are interested in being a part of the community, in the capacity of a player or the capacity of a fan.
The social element is another driving factor. Snooker is often played at recreational entertainment venues, which means that getting into the game feels quite easy and there is indeed zero pressure to do that.
2. New Markets Conquered by Snooker
The popularity of a sport often lies with the number of people out there who are willing to participate in it. In the case of snooker, the game is huge in the United Kingdom, parts of North America, and definitely China. China may seem like the odd one out, but the truth is, the player and fan base in China is enormous. It all started in the 1970s and 1980s when the game was introduced in a more permanent capacity.
To understand the effects that this has had on snooker, it suffices to say that some 20 million people watched two legends, Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor lay the 1985 World Championship final, and guess what? Viewership has only been going up.
Surely, with viewership numbers growing and interest clearly up there, snooker betting online has also shaped up, which is not necessarily a bad thing. If anything, the rise of a betting community has been quite beneficial to the game because interest has picked up a little since betting markets opened up.
3. Targeting Younger Demographics
While most sports have a problem with their demographics, the fact that snooker is partly a product of entertainment does wonder for its reputation and standing with younger crowds. If anything, snooker has been able to appeal to younger generations successfully and without necessarily making a specific effort.
A lot of gaming venues today attract young generations, and watching the sport is nothing short of watching someone in-person play. Of course, snooker has a slightly more competitive character and nature than most games that will take place in an arcade or a gaming venue, but the fact remains the game is the same, and it’s quite entertaining to behold.
Snooker differs from "pool" which is a form of billiards. The setup on a snooker table, which is bigger than a billiards table, is as shown in the illustration above. From a couple of years after I was first married in Toronto until I left for China in 2006 (about 32 years) I had a professional snooker table and set in the basement recreation rooms of the houses I owned (along with a juke box and a vintage pinball machine). I never got to play that well but my son grew up playing it and become quite skilled. Playing snooker was great fun back then and watching it on TV now is something I spend a lot of TV time doing when I'm not watching movies, the news, or the talking heads programs.
When I left Toronto my snooker table and set were bought by my son's best friend who had spent a lot of time playing snooker with my son. I'll always remember what he said when the moving company took the table away. "You don't know how happy I am to be able to keep playing on the table I learned on."
Snooker has become exceedingly popular in China. In Zhengzhou, where I first lived and taught English in a private high school, there were snooker tables on the streets in front of stores, but I didn't see that in Chengdu or in Chongqing where I'm living now. However there is a TV channel dedicated to snooker championship contests on a 24/7 basis and I spend a lot of time watching it. I have my favourite players who I most enjoy watching, such as Chinese player Ding Junhui who was the UK Snooker Champion in 2019, Kyren Wilson, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump (no relation, I believe).
I wonder how many members of NT are snooker players - I'd love to see them post some snooker stories here.
I grew up playing snooker and became good enough to beat most adults I played when I was just a kid. Since I don't go to bars or poolhalls anymore and my friend's father died and his table was sold, haven't played in many years.
Pretty much the same story with pool and ping pong. Grew up with both in the house.
I could probably still hold my own with all three games with a bit of practice.
Don't even get me started on golf. I was seriously addicted for many years.
I don't play snooker any more, but my wife and I play ping pong here regularly. There is an outdoor exercise area beside our building that has two ping pong tables, besides some exercise machines.
Although the usual meaning of "snooker" is to fool or bamboozle someone, in the game it means to cause your opponent a problem to be able to contact the necessary ball with your cue ball by placing it in a way to prevent a straight line shot at it, so one usually has to bounce the ball off a table cushioned wall to be able to hit the targeted ball. Sometimes watching the game being played can be a bit boring, but the two most interesting times are when a player is able to clean off the whole table not letting the opponent get a single point, and when nearer the end of the game when the players snooker each other in a close score game.