SNOOKER

- Snooker Rules

- World Ranking

- Welsh Snooker Players

Snooker Rules

• 1. Aim of the game • Snooker is played with fifteen object balls that are not numbered and

are solid red (called reds), six object balls of other colors that are not numbered (called colors in snooker) and a cue ball (called the white ball).

• The aim of snooker is to pocket the balls legally according to the rules and to score a greater number of points than the opponent.

• Point values for object balls: red-1, yellow-2, green-3, brown-4, blue-5, pink-6, black-7.

• 2. Opening break rules• The game of Snooker begins with the cue ball in hand in the Half Circle

(so the starting player can place the cue ball anywhere inside the Half Circle).

• The rules for the opening break are the same as when one of the players gets the right to strike.

Snooker Rules

• 3. Rules of play in Snooker• A player who gets the right to strike has to hit one of the red ball first.• Each shot has to be completed in 60 seconds, otherwise a foul is called.• A strike, when the next legal object is a red ball, is legal when:• The white ball is not potted.• The white ball hits a red ball first.• Only red balls are potted.• Otherwise the strike is a foul according to the rules of snooker:• When the strike on the red ball is legal:• If no red ball is potted then the opposing player is next.• When a red ball is potted then the player gets as many points as the number of red balls he has

potted. The striker's next legal object is a colored snooker ball (see next point rules).• A strike, when the next legal object is a color ball, is legal when:• The white ball is not potted.• If there are still red balls on the table then one of the colored balls is hit by the white ball first.• If there are no more red balls on the table then the colored ball with the lowest points is hit first. • Only the ball that was hit first by the white ball is be potted. • Otherwise the strike is a foul. • When the strike on the colored ball is legal:• If no ball is potted then the opposing player is next. • When a colored ball is potted then the player's points increase by the point value of the potted

colored ball. The striker's next legal object is a red ball. If there are no more red balls on the table, the next legal object is the ball with the lowest points.

Snooker Rules

• 4. Snooker Foul Rules • If a hit is a foul then the other player gets penalty points: • 4 points if the white ball is potted. • 4 points if time limit is exceeded (60 seconds/shot) • If the white hits the wrong ball first then the value of this ball. • If the wrong ball is potted first then the value of this ball. • When a hit results in more fouls then the opposing player gets the points of foul

with the highest value. • Penalty points have a minimal value of 4. • After committing a foul the incoming player may • play the ball(s) as they lie • request to pass the shot and let the offending player play the stroke again (without

returning to the original position) • 5. Game over rule • When the only ball left on the table is the black one and • The black ball is potted by the next legal shot. • The next hit is a foul.

World Ranking

POS. PLAYER PREV. TOTAL

1  Ronnie O'Sullivan 3 46775

2  Mark Williams 1 44462

3  Stephen Hendry 2 40950

4  Paul Hunter 8 40375

5  John Higgins 4 36487

6  Matthew Stevens 9 33325

7  Ken Doherty 6 32212

8  Peter Ebdon 7 31550

9  Stephen Lee 5 30700

10  Alan McManus 10 29250

Mark Williams

• MARK WILLIAMS (Wales)• World ranking: 1

Last five seasons: 1-3-5-4-16Date of birth: 21-03-75Lives: Cwm, GwentTurned professional: 1992Ranking tournament victories: 10Last season’s prize money: £292,850Career prize money: £1,914,853 Highest tournament break: 142

About Mark Williams• The 1999-2000 season was always going to be a hard act to follow for Mark Williams and so it proved. • World champion and world No 1, Williams again looked like proving the dominant force in snooker as he finished

runner-up to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the Champions Cup and then took his revenge on the 'Rocket' in the Grand Prix at Telford, beating him 9-5 in the final.

• That proved to be his only title of the season but by finishing runner-up in the Liverpool Victoria UK Championship and China Open, he more than did enough to maintain his massive lead at the top of the Embassy World Rankings.

• Already guaranteed the No 1 spot for a second successive year going into the Embassy World Championship, the Welshman became the latest victim of the Crucible curse that afflicts all first-time Sheffield winners of the trophy.

• He lost an epic second-round match against Northern Ireland's Joe Swail 13-12, then vowed to cut down on the amount of time he spends on the practice table. "I practised so hard for this tournament - I've practised hard all season - yet my form has been so bad. I haven't got a clue why; perhaps I've been trying too hard," he said.

• That crisis of confidence was in stark contrast to his mood at Sheffield 12 months earlier. Victories over John Read (10-4), Drew Henry (13-9), Fergal O'Brien (13-5) and John Higgins (17-15) took him through to the first-ever all-Welsh final, in which he defeated Matthew Stevens 18-16 after trailing 13-7 at one stage to claim a record £240,000 first prize.

• The first left-hander to lift the trophy in the 73-year history of the event, he declared: "This means everything to me. I have dreamt about this moment since I was a kid. Even if I had lost I couldn't have grumbled because I was guaranteed the number one spot. I didn't want to be too greedy but to do both is really scary."

• His manager Ian Doyle said: "No one deserves this more than Mark. He has worked his socks off over the last two years and I'm delighted for him. He's got a big lead in the rankings and he is going to be hard to catch."

• A promising amateur boxer before opting for a career on the green baize, Williams showed his ability to perform under pressure when winning the Benson and Hedges Masters at Wembley in 1998.

• Trailing Stephen Hendry 9-6 in the final, he drew level at 9-9 and, at 56-56 in the deciding frame, potted a re-spotted black to land the £145,000 first prize.

• Hendry took his revenge in the 1999 World Championship final, winning 18-11. But Williams, part of the victorious Welsh

team in the 1999 Nations Cup, put that experience to good use a year later.

Matthew Stevens

• MATTHEW STEVENS (Wales) • World ranking: 6

Last five seasons: 9-26-53-67-236Date of birth: 11-09-77Lives: Carmarthen, DyfedTurned professional: 1994Ranking tournament victories: 0Last season’s prize money: £481,115Career prize money: £729,290Highest tournament break: 145 - Grand Prix 1996

About Matthew Stevens• Matthew Stevens is still waiting to win his first world ranking tournament - yet he came so close last season to claiming

the greatest prize snooker has to offer, the Embassy World Championship. • Favourite to make it through the top half of the draw after the early exits of Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan, he

duly obliged as victories over Tony Drago (10-2), Alan McManus (13-4), Jimmy White (13-7) and Joe Swail (17-12) took him through to the first-ever all-Welsh final with good friend Mark Williams.

• Stevens looked set for victory when he led 13-7 but Williams took 11 of the next 14 frames to triumph 18-16. • “I missed a black that might have taken me 14-7 up and after that Mark came back superbly, showing why he is world No

1,” said the sporting loser. • “But it was great experience for me and I am sure I will learn from it.” • Stevens’ consolation was a cheque for £140,000 - just enough to follow Williams’ lead and buy a Ferrari, only yellow

rather than red! • The fluent break-builder from Carmarthen has also twice been beaten in the Liverpool Victoria UK Championship final,

losing 10-6 to John Higgins in 1998 and 10-8 to Williams the following year. • But he has already proved he is a winner by completing a notable Masters double, defeating Higgins 9-7 in the final of

the Regal Masters and then striking gold in the Benson and Hedges Masters at Wembley in February, beating Alan McManus, White and John Parrott before overcoming Ken Doherty 10-8 in a thrilling final to pocket a £165,000 first prize.

• “This is the best moment of my snooker life; beyond my wildest dreams,” said Stevens after staving off Doherty’s fightback from 9-5 to 9-8 by compiling a break of 63 under the utmost pressure.

• His Wheels in Motion manager Geoff Faint is in no doubt that his young charge will go on to even bigger things, saying: “Matthew has a very bright future and will be a top player for many years to come.

• "He is still gaining experience but he showed against Ken that he has the big-match temperament.”

Dominic Dale

• DOMINIC DALE (Wales)

• World ranking: 20Last five seasons: 20-19-23-54-87 Date of birth: 29-12-71Lives: Penarth, Vale of GlamorganTurned professional: 1992Ranking tournament victories: 1Last season’s prize money: £41,735Career prize money: £297,265

Highest tournament break: 145

About Dominic Dale

• Dominic Dale caused a major upset by winning the 1997 Grand Prix in Bournemouth, defeating John Higgins 9-6 in the final.

• In so doing, he became only the fifth Welshman to win a world ranking title and rose 31 places in the rankings.

• The 1998-99 season proved a major disappointment in contrast as he failed to progress further than the last 32 of a ranking event.

• But the man with a taste for colourful suits - and even more colourful shirts - returned to form during the 1999-2000 campaign.

• He has maintained his place in the top 20 despite an indifferent season in which he failed to qualify for the Embassy World Championships.

Snooker: A very interesting and important sport in Wales