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**cueman** · 25 November 2006, 01:54 PM

I wish you luck with your essay and its nice to see Snooker is popular in other countries such as yours.
I would like to be able to answer your questions but they really are impossible to answer. I wouldn't know how to go about finding out how many tables there are and the amount of players in GB. Are you talking on the professional level or just anyone that plays the game?

You can find info about tournaments on the Globalsnookercentre website and I'm sure if you asked Janie who runs that site, she will be more than pleased to answer your questions or put you in touch with someone who can.

**tupelo** · 25 November 2006, 02:11 PM

Ok, thank you for your opinion.... I talked about proffesionals players or players who play some competition at any level..... I'll try to check website you wrote me

**..KiD DyNaMiTe..** · 25 November 2006, 02:30 PM

Snookers not very popular here, it has it's fair share of viewers/players but it's not exactly popular. Compared to other countrys yes I guess it is.

**Robert602** · 25 November 2006, 02:30 PM

As a very rough estimate, I'd say there are about 15,000 tables in the UK. That's simply based on the fact that there is about 1 table to every 4000 people where I live, and just scaling it up.

As for players, it's really very hard to even guess. There are a few club owners on the board and maybe they could offer some insights? I would say that of people around my age (20), there's about one serious (ie, plays once a week or more) snooker player in every 50. Very rough again and based solely on my own observations.

The world snooker final on TV typically gets around 8 million UK viewers, and peaked in 1985, at the time this broke the channel's post-midnight ratings record with something like 18 million viewers.

As for tournaments, as cueman says the best place to get comprehensive information is globalsnookercentre. Worldsnooker.com has a list of the major (main tour professional) tournaments also.

Of the 234 professional players I have records on, 124 are english, 21 Welsh, 22 Scottish and 10 Northern Irish, leaving 57 from outside the UK. That list includes all players that have ever been in the top 20 (1976 onwards), as well as much lower ranked professional players from 1990 onwards. The Statman also has a list of nationalities that have appeared at the crucible (world championships) here, with broadly similar figures.

**tupelo** · 25 November 2006, 03:36 PM

oh. thank you very much again for your comments....it is very useful for me

**missneworleans** · 25 November 2006, 03:57 PM

I thought snooker appeared in UK, isn't it??

**bjornlorange** · 25 November 2006, 05:02 PM

Hello!

I live in Norway, where snooker still has quite a way to go in order to earn the definition "popular". Of course there are some individuals, my self included, who consider this sport very interesting. Maybe the main tour re-entry of former englishman Kurt Maflin, now representing the vikings, will have an impact on the sport's reputation.

Well, we were supposed to talk about Britain, weren't we? -I have learned that in the early days of colour television, BBC wanted to send programmes that paid the new technology full respect. Hence, a game which was based upon different colours was ideel. The broadcasts from Pot Black soon earned substantial ratings, and other tournaments were soon on the tv-listings. The (near-?) monopoly of BBC those days also ment a lot to the game, and the recruiting of devoted fans.

So, I guess timing is a key to snookers position in Britain. The sport was there, at the right place (BBC) at the right time (before the explotion of media competition). Of course, other factors also contributes to the popularity of the sport, but I believe that native Englishmen, Scots, Welsh etc. are far more competent to commente on those.

Good luck on your essay!

**PaulTheSoave** · 25 November 2006, 05:42 PM

I think it quite has a potential. When i mention to my collegues, friends, in the pub or even at the hairdressers I am off for a weekend to york for the snooker, I am surprised the response i get, they watch it themselves on the bbc. Even followed with comments like, "I want O'sullivan to win" or Could Hendry be back at his best? I have not met anyone yet who does not know the game over here. Likewise in darts, if just one player would make it to The Crucible and go to the quarters, it will be massive over here. No doubt about it.

**chasmmi** · 25 November 2006, 05:52 PM

I am always amazed how many people otherseas watch or like snooker as I always assume its a UK maybe commonwealth only thing when it comes to people liking it.

Yet here there are people for god knows how many countries. I just wander if snooker took the risk and really globalized the tour would it work? Or are the Ukranians, Latvians, Romanians etc here literally the only people in their countries who care about snooker?

**tupelo** · 26 November 2006, 03:22 PM

Hi all, thank you very much for your replies. Well I made up some qestions for you....maybe it will be very intersting to make a short international poll... if you have couple of minutes, you can write your answers.

There are questions and my answers

1. How much costs snooker in your country? (2,5 Euro/hour)
2. How many tables are in your city? (In Prague we have only 6 tabels)
3. Is it hard to find table for play? Do you have to make reservation? (Although we have only 6 tables, there is no problem with playing. Snooker is not so famous in the Czech rep., Czechs prefer other cue games)
4. Is it possible to see snooker in local TV? (No, czech channels don't broadcast snooker)
5. How often do you play snooker? (well, I usually play twice in a month)
6. Is it common that someone have his/her own table at home? (I don't think so, I don't know anybody who has it)

If you make up your question, write it....Thx all

**dannyd0g** · 26 November 2006, 03:40 PM

1. How much costs snooker in your country? (2,5 Euro/hour)
£5-6 an hour average. But working mens clubs and community centres are MUCH cheaper if you are lucky enough to have access to one of those.

2. How many tables are in your city? (In Prague we have only 6 tabels)
Manchester UK must have i would guess around 200 full size snooker tables for public use

3. Is it hard to find table for play? Do you have to make reservation?
not usually - although sometimes during school holidays and around the time the world championships are on tv it can be best to book - as the clubs get very busy then

4. Is it possible to see snooker in local TV? (No, czech channels don't broadcast snooker)
yes - for example only bbc wales show the welsh open tournament

5. How often do you play snooker? (well, I usually play twice in a month)
used to play 2 hours a night - now maybe 5-10 times a year !

6. Is it common that someone have his/her own table at home?
Not full size tables no - you would need a very large room to put it in. I think generally only the very rich, or snooker proffessionals, or snooker mad people would have these.

However, I think its fairly common for people to have smaller tables or pool tables though. In my class at school, which had about 20 boys, about 5 of us had small tables at home - so 25% maybe.

**PaulTheSoave** · 26 November 2006, 04:22 PM

1. How much costs snooker in your country? (2,5 Euro/hour)

€ 10.00 per hour

2. How many tables are in your city? (In Prague we have only 6 tabels)

Amsterdam, I guess 50

3. Is it hard to find table for play? Do you have to make reservation?

Yes, where i play its fully booked (except when there is football on the tele)

4. Is it possible to see snooker in local TV? (No, czech channels don't broadcast snooker)

NO.

5. How often do you play snooker? (well, I usually play twice in a month)

Every 4 weeks.

6. Is it common that someone have his/her own table at home?

NO, not over here.

**April madness** · 26 November 2006, 05:06 PM

1. How much costs snooker in your country?
about 5 euro per hour

2. How many tables are in your city?
in Riga - not very sure, but at least 30 tables I think.

3. Is it hard to find table for play? Do you have to make reservation?
depends. the clube where I am going to play, the tables are always full, so there are problems to find a table. some others - quite easy. Not very common to make reservations though

4. Is it possible to see snooker in local TV?

No. I personally only a couple of times have heard about snooker on local sports news - when it was European u-19 championship ir Riga this year and also Baltic cup.

5. How often do you play snooker?

Haven't played for a while, but I was playing/practising twice a week

6. Is it common that someone have his/her own table at home?

No.

**hegeland** · 26 November 2006, 05:26 PM

1. How much costs snooker in your country?

From £1,8 per person per hour

2. How many tables are in your city?

Seven. About 56 public tables in total in Sweden.

3. Is it hard to find table for play? Do you have to make reservation?

No, only during and some days after the World Championship.

4. Is it possible to see snooker in local TV?

Only Swedish Eurosport

5. How often do you play snooker?

Pool twice a week, snooker once every forthnight.

6. Is it common that someone have his/her own table at home?

No.

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Why is snooker so popular in GB

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