Portal:Cue sports
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The Cue Sports Portal
Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as cushions. Cue sports are also collectively referred to as billiards, though this term has more specific connotations in some varieties of English.
There are three major subdivisions of games within cue sports:
- Carom billiards, played on tables without pockets, typically ten feet in length, including straight rail, balkline, one-cushion carom, three-cushion billiards, artistic billiards, and four-ball
- Pocket billiards (or pool), played on six-pocket tables of seven, eight, nine, or ten-foot length, including among others eight-ball (the world's most widely played cue sport), nine-ball (the dominant professional game), ten-ball, straight pool (the formerly dominant pro game), one-pocket, and bank pool
- Snooker, English billiards, and Russian pyramid, played on a large, six-pocket table (dimensions just under 12 ft by 6 ft), all of which are classified separately from pool based on distinct development histories, player culture, rules, and terminology.
Billiards has a long history from its inception in the 15th century, with many mentions in the works of Shakespeare, including the line "let's to billiards" in Antony and Cleopatra (1606–07). Enthusiasts of the sport have included Mozart, Louis XIV of France, Marie Antoinette, Immanuel Kant, Napoleon, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, George Washington, Jules Grévy, Charles Dickens, George Armstrong Custer, Theodore Roosevelt, Lewis Carroll, W. C. Fields, Babe Ruth, Bob Hope, and Jackie Gleason. (Full article...)
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Image 1The 2021 Tour Championship (officially the 2021 Cazoo Tour Championship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 22 to 28 March 2021 at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales. Organised by the World Snooker Tour, it was the third edition of the Tour Championship and the third and final event of the third season of the Cazoo Cup. It was the 14th and penultimate ranking event of the 2020–21 snooker season, following the conclusion of the WST Pro Series and preceding the World Championship.
The draw for the Tour Championship comprised the top eight players based on the single year ranking list. The event was contested as a single-elimination tournament, each match being played over two sessions. The winner of the tournament received £150,000 out of a total prize fund of £380,000. The event was sponsored by car retailer Cazoo. The defending champion was Stephen Maguire, but as a result of reduced earnings during the season he was unable to qualify and defend the title. In a repeat of the 2019 final Australian Neil Robertson played Englishman Ronnie O'Sullivan. Robertson won the event defeating O'Sullivan 10–4 in the final. There were 26 century breaks made during the event, Barry Hawkins making the highest break, a 138. (Full article...) -
Image 2The 2019 Champion of Champions (officially the 2019 ManBetX Champion of Champions) was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 4 and 10 November 2019 at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, England. It was the ninth Champion of Champions event, the first of which was held in 1978. The tournament featured 16 participants who had won World Snooker events throughout the prior snooker season. In 2019, the Women's World Champion competed at the tournament for the first time. As an invitational event, the Champion of Champions tournament carried no world ranking points.
Ronnie O'Sullivan was the defending champion having defeated Kyren Wilson 10–9 in the final of the 2018 event. O'Sullivan lost 5–6 to Neil Robertson in the semi-finals. Robertson defeated reigning world champion Judd Trump 10–9 in the final to win the championship, having required foul shots in the penultimate frame to avoid losing the match. There were 20 century breaks during the tournament, eight of which were made in the final. Mark Allen compiled the highest break of the tournament, a 140, in his semi-final loss to Trump. The tournament's total prize fund was £440,000, the winner receiving £150,000. (Full article...) -
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The 2018 World Snooker Championship (officially the 2018 Betfred World Snooker Championship) was a professional snooker tournament held from 21 April to 7 May 2018 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Hosted by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, it was the 20th and final ranking event of the 2017–18 snooker season and the 42nd consecutive time the World Snooker Championship had been held at the venue. The tournament was broadcast by BBC Sport and Eurosport in Europe, and sponsored by betting company Betfred.
Welsh left-hander Mark Williams won his third world championship and 21st ranking title, defeating Scottish professional John Higgins 18–16 in the final. Williams' victory came 15 years after his second world title in 2003; before the start of the season, he had not won a ranking event in the previous six years. In winning the event, Williams received the highest prize money awarded for a snooker event, £425,000 of a total pool of £1,968,000. Aged 43, he was the third oldest winner at the crucible after Ronnie O'Sullivan who was 44 when he won the 2020 World Snooker Championship and Ray Reardon who was 45 when he won the title in 1978. Defending and three-time world champion Mark Selby had won the world title for the previous two years, but lost in the first round 4–10 to Joe Perry. (Full article...) -
Image 4The 1986 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the 1986 Embassy World Snooker Championship for the purposes of sponsorship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 19 April and 5 May 1986 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the sixth and final ranking event of the 1985–86 snooker season and the 1986 edition of the World Snooker Championship, first held in 1927. The total prize fund was £350,000 with £70,000 awarded to the winner and was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy.
The defending champion was Dennis Taylor, who had defeated Steve Davis 18–17 in the 1985 World Snooker Championship final to win his first world title. In defence of his title, Taylor lost in the first round of the event 6–10 to Mike Hallett. Joe Johnson the world number 16 defeated Davis 18–12 in the final to win his sole ranking event. Prior to the competition, the bookmakers' odds for a Johnson victory were 150/1. There were 20 century breaks compiled in total during the tournament, the highest of which was a 134 made by Davis in the opening frame of his quarter-final win. (Full article...) -
Image 5The 2020 Tour Championship (officially the 2020 Coral Tour Championship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 20 to 26 June 2020, at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England. Organised by the World Snooker Tour, it was the second edition of the Tour Championship and the third and final event of the second season of the Coral Cup. It was the 16th and penultimate ranking event of the 2019–20 snooker season following the Gibraltar Open and preceding the World Championship. The tournament was originally scheduled for 17 to 22 March 2020, but on the morning of 17 March the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following advice from the UK government, it had been decided that no spectators would be permitted at the event.
The draw for the Tour Championship comprised the top eight players based on the single year ranking list. The event was contested as a single-elimination tournament, with each match played over a minimum of two sessions and the final being a best-of-19-frames match. The winner of the tournament won £150,000 out of a total prize fund of £380,000. The event was sponsored by betting company Coral. (Full article...) -
Image 6The 1989 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the Embassy World Snooker Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 15 April to 1 May 1989 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, it was the eighth and final ranking event of the 1988–89 snooker season and the thirteenth consecutive World Snooker Championship to be held at the Crucible, the first tournament at this location having taken place in 1977. There were 142 entrants to the competition.
The defending champion was Steve Davis, who had previously won the World Championship five times. He met John Parrott in the final, which was a best-of-35-frames match. Davis won the match 18–3, which remains the biggest winning margin in the sport's modern era, and meant that the final, scheduled for four sessions, finished with a session to spare. This was Davis's sixth and last world title, and his last appearance in a World Championship final. Stephen Hendry scored the championship's highest break, a 141, in his quarter-final match. There were 19 century breaks compiled during the championship. (Full article...) -
Image 7The 2002 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the 2002 Embassy World Snooker Championship for the purposes of sponsorship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 20 April to 6 May 2002 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the final ranking event of the 2001–02 snooker season. This was the 26th consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship had been held at the Crucible, marking the 25th anniversary of the first staging of the event at this venue. The championship was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy.
Peter Ebdon won his only world title by defeating seven-time winner Stephen Hendry 18–17 in the final. Ebdon defeated Matthew Stevens 17–16 in the semi-finals, and Hendry defeated the defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan 17–13 to reach the final. This was Hendry's ninth and last appearance in a World Championship final. There were 65 century breaks during the tournament. The highest break of the tournament was by Stevens, who achieved 145 in his quarter-final match. Hendry made 16 centuries during the event, a record for any individual tournament, equalled by Mark Williams in 2022. A total prize fund of £1,615,770 was awarded at the event, the winner receiving £260,000 (Full article...) -
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The sport of snooker has utilised a world rankings system since 1975, used to seed players on the World Snooker Tour for tournaments. Originally rankings were published once a year, at the culmination of the season, however, since 2010, the rankings have been changed to be updated after every ranking tournament. The number one ranking has been held by twelve players; Ray Reardon was the first to hold the position, and was followed by Cliff Thorburn, Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, John Higgins, Mark Williams, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, Judd Trump, Ding Junhui and Mark Allen.
Hendry held the number one position for the longest time under the annual format, holding it for nine years in total. Since it changed to a rolling format in 2010, Selby has held the rank longer than anyone else. (Full article...) -
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The 2015 World Snooker Championship (officially the 2015 Betfred World Snooker Championship) was a professional snooker tournament which took place from 18 April to 4 May 2015 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 39th consecutive year that the World Snooker Championship had been held at the Crucible, and was the final ranking event of the 2014–15 snooker season. Sports betting company Betfred sponsored the event for the first time in three years, having previously done so from 2009 to 2012. The top sixteen players in the snooker world rankings were placed into the draw, and another sixteen players qualified for the event at a tournament taking place from 8 to 15 April 2015 at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheffield.
Mark Selby was the defending champion, having defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan in the 2014 final. Selby lost 9–13 in the second round to event debutant Anthony McGill, and became the 16th first-time champion unable to defend his title at the venue. Shaun Murphy, the 2005 winner, met Stuart Bingham in the final. Bingham, who was given odds of 50–1 to win the tournament by bookmakers before the start of the tournament, defeated Murphy 18–15 in the final to win the first world title of his 20-year professional career. Aged 38, Bingham became the oldest player to win the title since Ray Reardon in 1978. (Full article...) -
Image 10The 1987 World Snooker Championship (also referred to as the 1987 Embassy World Snooker Championship for the purpose of sponsorship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 18 April and 4 May 1987 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the sixth and final ranking event of the 1986–87 snooker season. The championship was the 1987 edition of the World Snooker Championship, first held in 1927, and had 32 participants. The highest ranked 16 players were awarded a place in the first round draw, whilst a pre-tournament qualification event for 104 professionals was held between 26 March and 4 April at the Preston Guild Hall for the remaining places. The tournament was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer Embassy and had a prize fund of £400,000 with the winner receiving £80,000.
Since his 1986 victory, Joe Johnson had experienced a disappointing season leading up to the 1987 Championship, and bookmakers considered it unlikely that he would retain the title. Johnson did reach the final, a rematch of the previous year's final against Steve Davis. Davis won his fourth championship by defeating Johnson 18 frames to 14. A total of 18 century breaks were made during the tournament, the highest of which was 127 made by Davis in first frame of the final. Stephen Hendry, aged 18, became the youngest player to win a match in the tournament's history since it moved to the Crucible in 1977, whilst it was the last time that six-times champion Ray Reardon appeared. (Full article...)
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Jacob Schaefer Jr. (born October 18, 1894, in Chicago, Illinois; died November 10, 1975, in Cleveland, Ohio) was an American professional carom billiards player with German grandparentage, a specialist in balkline games, and was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1968. His nickname was "the Prodigy". (Full article...) -
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Niels Feijen (born 3 February 1977, The Hague) is a Dutch professional pool player, from the Hague. His nickname is "the Terminator". In 2014 he won the WPA World 9-ball championship. (Full article...) -
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The U.S. Open Pool Championship, formerly the U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship, is an annual professional men's nine-ball pool tournament that began in its current form in 1976. The U.S. Open is one of the most sought-after titles in nine-ball and in pool generally. Traditionally, winners of the U.S. Open are given a green blazer and are awarded free entry fees to all future U.S. Open tournaments.
The Women's U.S. Open is a separate event, sanctioned by the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA). (Full article...) -
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Chris Wakelin (born 16 March 1992) is an English professional snooker player from Rugby, Warwickshire. He practices in Bar 8 in Rugby. He turned professional in 2013 and won his first ranking title at the 2023 Snooker Shoot Out. (Full article...) -
Image 5The World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) is the international governing body for pool (pocket billiards). It was formed in 1987, and was initially headed by a provisional board of directors consisting of representatives from Australia, Americas, Africa, and Europe. As of 2023, the WPA president is Ishaun Singh of South Africa. It is an associate of the World Confederation of Billiards Sports (WCBS), the international umbrella organization that encompasses the major cue sports. WPA is headquartered in Gauteng, South Africa. (Full article...)
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Kim Davenport (born November 15, 1955, in McAlester, Oklahoma) is an American professional pocket billiards (pool) player, nicknamed "Kimmer". (Full article...) -
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William Frederick Hoppe (October 11, 1887 – February 1, 1959) (surname rhymes with "poppy"), was an internationally renowned American professional carom billiards champion. Hoppe is widely considered one of the greatest billiards players of all time and was posthumously inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1966. (Full article...) -
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Five-pin billiards or simply five-pins or 5-pins (Italian: [biliardo dei] cinque birilli; Spanish: [billar de] cinco quillas or casín), is today usually a carom billiards form of cue sport, though sometimes still played on a pocket table. In addition to the customary three balls of most carom games, it makes use of a set of five upright pins (skittles) arranged in a "+" pattern at the center of the table. The game is popular especially in Italy (where it originated) and Argentina, but also in some other parts of Latin America and Europe, with international, televised professional tournaments (for the carom version only). It is sometimes referred to as Italian five-pins or Italian billiards (Italian: biliardo all'italiana), or as simply italiana (in Italian and Spanish). A variant of the game, goriziana or nine-pins, adds additional skittles to the formation. A related pocket game, with larger pins, is played in Scandinavia and is referred to in English as Danish pin billiards, with a Swedish variant that has some rules more similar to the Italian game. (Full article...) -
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Nick Varner (born May 15, 1948, in Owensboro, Kentucky) is an American professional pool player who was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1992. Varner is widely considered one of the greatest pool players of all time. Varner is a multiple world champion and has won back to back U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, in addition to being the oldest player to ever win the WPA World Nine-ball Championship, at 51 years old. (Full article...) -
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Ian Burns (born 11 March 1985) is an English professional snooker player.
Burns turned professional after qualifying in his first attempt at the 2012 Q School and gained a two-year tour card for the 2012/13 and 2013/14 snooker seasons. He won four matches in the event, concluding with a 4–3 victory over veteran Rod Lawler to seal his card. He finished outside top 64 after the 2022-23 season but retained his tour card as a result of being one of the top 4 players outside that range to have the most amount of points on the one-year list. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch
- ... that both finalists at the 2008 World Snooker Championship made maximum breaks during the tournament?
- ... that Kyren Wilson won the first four frames in all of his snooker matches at the 2023 Tour Championship?
- ... that Fraser Patrick likened playing in the 2019 Q School to being in a boxing match with Anthony Joshua?
- ... that the 1947 World Snooker Championship was the first world snooker championship where the winner wasn't Joe Davis?
- ... that referee Jan Verhaas was informed of an error he made at the 2022 Masters by a member of the crowd?
- ... that John Spencer won a World Snooker Championship on his first attempt in 1969?
- ... that Turkish carom billiards champion Güzin Müjde Karakaşlı grew up playing volleyball for about 12 years?
- ... that John Spencer "exploded two myths" by winning the 1977 World Snooker Championship with a two-piece cue that he had only been using for a couple of months?
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Image 1The Women's Billiards Association (WBA), founded in 1931 and based in London, United Kingdom, was the governing body for women's English billiards and snooker, and organised the Women's Professional Billiards Championship and Women's Professional Snooker Championship as well as amateur and junior competitions. The founding meeting was held on 13 May 1931 at the Women's Automobile and Sports Association. The meeting was chaired by Teresa Billington-Greig and appointed Viscountess Elibank as the first president and Mrs Longworth as the first chairman. The WBA ran amateur and professional billiards competitions starting from 1932, an amateur snooker tournament from 1933, and a professional snooker championship from 1934.
It affiliated to the Billiards Association and Control Council (BA&CC) in 1935. In 1936, after a proposal by the Association, the BA&CC took over the management of the WBA. The Association continued to stage professional competitions until 1950, and amateur competitions until the 1970s, when the Women's Billiards & Snooker Association, which was formed in 1976, and later the World Ladies Billiards & Snooker Association, founded in 1981, took control of the games. (Full article...) -
Image 2Rudolf Walter Wanderone (né Rudolf Walter Wanderon Jr.; January 19, 1913 – January 15, 1996), commonly known as Minnesota Fats, was an American professional pool player. Although he never won a major pool tournament as "Fats", he was at one time perhaps the most publicly recognized pool player in the United States—not only as a player, but also as an entertainer. Wanderone was inducted in 1984 into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame for his decades-long public promotion of pool.
Wanderone began playing at a young age in New York City. As a teenager, he became a traveling pool hustler. Later, in his thirties, he moved to Du Quoin, Illinois, where he met and married his first wife, Evelyn. During World War II, he hustled servicemen in Norfolk, Virginia. With the end of the war, Wanderone returned to Illinois and entered semi-retirement. (Full article...) -
Image 3The 1980 World Snooker Championship, officially known as the 1980 Embassy World Snooker Championship for sponsorship reasons, was a ranking professional snooker tournament that took place from 22 April to 5 May 1980 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The tournament was the 1980 edition of the World Snooker Championship and was the fourth consecutive world championship to take place at the Crucible Theatre since 1977. It was authorised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. The total prize fund for the tournament was £60,000, of which £15,000 went to the winner.
There were 53 entrants to the competition, although four later withdrew. Qualifying rounds for the tournament took place at Romiley Forum, Stockport, from 5 to 18 April 1980; at the Redwood Lodge Country Club, Bristol, from 11 to 16 April; and at Sheffield Snooker Centre from 12 to 17 April. The main stage of the tournament featured 24 players: the top 16 players from the snooker world rankings and another eight players from the qualifying rounds. Ray Edmonds, Jim Meadowcroft, Tony Meo, Cliff Wilson and Jim Wych made their Crucible debuts. The defending champion and top seed in the tournament was Terry Griffiths, who had defeated Dennis Taylor 24–16 in the 1979 final. (Full article...) -
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The 2019 UK Championship (officially the 2019 Betway UK Championship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 26 November to 8 December 2019 in the Barbican Centre, York, England. The 43rd edition of the UK Championship, it was the seventh ranking tournament and the first Triple Crown event of the 2019–20 season. The event was broadcast on BBC Sport in the United Kingdom and on Eurosport throughout Europe. The tournament was sponsored by betting company Betway.
The defending champion, Ronnie O'Sullivan, had won the previous two championships, defeating Shaun Murphy 10–5 in the 2017 final, and Mark Allen 10–6 in the 2018 final. O'Sullivan was eliminated in the last 16 by Ding Junhui, who won the match 6–4 and proceeded to reach the final of the event, defeating compatriots Liang Wenbo and Yan Bingtao, both 6–2, in the two intervening rounds. Ding's opponent in the final was Stephen Maguire, who had won his semi-final 6–0 against Mark Allen. Ding defeated Maguire 10–6 to win his third UK championship. (Full article...) -
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Nick van den Berg (born 24 May 1980) is a Dutch professional pool player. He was the runner up at the 2005 WPA World Eight-ball Championship, where he lost to Wu Chia-ching 11–5 in the final. He is a multiple time winner of events on the Euro Tour, winning 10 tournaments between 2002 and 2017, the fourth highest in the history of the tour. A six-time winner of the European Pool Championships, Van den Berg has represented Europe at the Mosconi Cup on eight occasions, winning the event on six occasions as well as tying the event in 2006. (Full article...) -
Image 6The 2019 Shanghai Masters was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that took place at the Regal International East Asia Hotel in Shanghai, China from 9 to 15 September 2019. It was the 12th edition of the Shanghai Masters, which was first held in 2007. Ronnie O'Sullivan was the defending champion, having defeated Barry Hawkins 11–9 in the 2018 final, and also having won the tournament in 2017. O'Sullivan successfully defended his title for a second consecutive year, defeating Shaun Murphy 11–9 in the final. This was the third consecutive title for O'Sullivan in this tournament.
The prize fund was £751,000 with the winner receiving £200,000. The event was broadcast by Great Sports Channel, Superstars Online, Youku and Zhibo.tv in China, as well as NowTV in Hong Kong and Eurosport in Europe. (Full article...) -
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Dennis Taylor (born 19 January 1949) is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. In the 1985 World Snooker Championship final, against defending champion Steve Davis, Taylor lost the first eight frames, but recovered to win 18–17 in a duel on the last black ball. The final's conclusion attracted 18.5 million viewers, setting UK viewership records for any post-midnight broadcast and for any broadcast on BBC Two that still stand.
Taylor had previously been runner-up at the 1979 World Snooker Championship, where he lost the final 16–24 to Terry Griffiths. His highest world ranking came in 1979–1980, when he was second. He won one other ranking title at the 1984 Grand Prix, where he defeated Cliff Thorburn 10–2 in the final, and also won the invitational 1987 Masters, defeating Alex Higgins 9–8 in the final. He made the highest break of his career at the 1987 Carling Challenge, a 141. (Full article...) -
Image 8Amee Kamani (born 3 June 1992) is an Indian snooker player. She was runner-up in the 2016 International Billiards and Snooker Federation World Snooker championship, losing 0–5 in the final to the defending champion Wendy Jans. Kamani was the 2018 Asian Billiards Sports Championships Ladies (ACBS Asian Snooker Championship) Champion after defeating Siripaporn Nuanthakhamjan 3–0 in the final, and was runner-up at the 2014 Australian Open (0–3 to Jessica Woods) and the 2019 International Billiards and Snooker Federation Women's six-reds snooker championship (2–4 against Nutcharut Wongharuthai).
After a sporting focus on table tennis for ten years until she was 17, Kamani then took up cue sports competitively. She has won three Indian national titles at snooker and two at English billiards, and was a member of the victorious Asia women's team at the 2019 World Team Trophy, a test event for the 2024 Summer Olympics. (Full article...) -
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Bottle pool, also known as bottle-billiards and bottle pocket billiards, is a hybrid billiards game combining aspects of both carom billiards and pocket billiards. Played on a standard pool table, the game uses just two object balls, a cue ball, and a 6+3⁄4 inches (170 mm) tall, narrow-necked bottle called a shake bottle or tally bottle, traditionally made from leather, that is placed on the table and used as a target for caroms. Those unfamiliar with the game sometimes mistakenly use its name as a synonym for the very different game of kelly pool. Bottle pool has been described as combining "elements of billiards, straight pool and chess under a set of rules that lavishly rewards strategic shot making and punishes mistakes with Sisyphean point reversals."
Although bottle pool's origins remain obscure, tournament records and newspaper articles confirm that the game has been played since at least the late 19th century. A mention appears in an 1894 article in The New York Times announcing a 64-player tournament to be played at a certain Hanover Clubhouse in Brooklyn, New York. The game was more well known in the early-to-mid-20th century, during which references to it appear in numerous books and publications including Sinclair Lewis's Main Street. It is also known to have been played by some notable individuals, such as quantum chemist and biochemist Linus Pauling. (Full article...) -
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James Cahill (born 27 December 1995) is an English professional snooker player from Blackpool. Cahill first turned professional in 2013, aged 17, after winning the European Under 21 Championships, but returned to amateur status in 2017.
As an amateur, Cahill reached the main stage of the 2019 World Snooker Championship, becoming the first amateur player ever to qualify for the event. At the tournament, he defeated world number one Ronnie O'Sullivan 10–8 in their first round match. O'Sullivan was the second former world number one Cahill had defeated in the 2018–19 snooker season, after his victory over Mark Selby at the 2018 UK Championship. Cahill qualified for a new two-year tour card as the second highest ranked player on the one year list who was not in the top 64 in the world after the 2018–19 season. He rejoined the professional tour in June 2019, only to be relegated again in June 2021, and rejoin June 2022. (Full article...)
General images - load new batch
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Image 2A full-size snooker table set up for the start of a game (from Snooker)
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Image 3A complete set of snooker balls (from Snooker)
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Image 4Paul Gauguin's 1888 painting Night Café at Arles includes a depiction of French billiards (from Carom billiards)
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Image 5alt=Green snooker ball (from Snooker)
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Image 6Balkline table with standard markings (from Carom billiards)
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Image 7A sliding scoreboard, some blocks of cue-tip chalk, white chalk-board chalk, and two cue sticks (from Snooker)
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Image 8A pool table diagram (from Pool (cue sports))
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Image 9alt=Blue snooker ball (from Snooker)
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Image 10Historic print depicting Michael Phelan's Billiard Saloon located at the corner of 10th Street and Broadway in Manhattan, 1 January 1859 (from Carom billiards)
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Image 11alt=Pink snooker ball (from Snooker)
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Image 12alt=Brown snooker ball (from Snooker)
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Image 13Dutch pool player Niels Feijen at the 2008 European Pool Championship (from Pool (cue sports))
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Image 15The Family Remy by Januarius Zick, c. 1776, featuring billiards among other parlour activities (from Carom billiards)
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Image 16alt=Red snooker ball (from Snooker)
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Image 17alt=Yellow snooker ball (from Snooker)
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Image 18Ronnie O'Sullivan has won the World Championship seven times in the 21st century. (from Snooker)
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Image 20A set of standard carom billiard balls, comprising a red object ball, one plain white cue ball, and one dotted white cue ball (replaced in modern three-cushion billiards by a yellow ball) for the opponent (from Carom billiards)
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Image 21alt=Black snooker ball (from Snooker)
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Image 24A player racking the balls (from Pool (cue sports))
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Image 26A 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 (from Snooker)
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Image 28Illustration A: Aerial view of a snooker table with the balls in their starting positions. The cue ball (white) may be placed anywhere in the semicircle (known as the "D") at the start of the game. (from Snooker)
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