What country is snooker popular in?

Since its humble beginnings, snooker has always been a popular sport in the UK. In recent years, however, the identity of the game has begun to change as its popularity has spread to other countries—the primary being China.

Is snooker popular in China?

Although pool or, more specifically, billiards, has long been a popular street recreation sport in China, snooker's popularity has increased over the last few years in China.

Is snooker popular in Asia?

World Snooker estimates that there are about 350 million snooker fans throughout Asia, where demographically, their fans are younger than other regions; whereas 27% of snooker fans in the U.K. are 50-years-old or younger, 80% of fans in China are in that age range. That has helped push the sport forward in Asia.

Which countries have the most snooker players?

131 players from 18 countries will compete on the professional World Snooker Tour circuit for the 2022/23 campaign. England (57) and China (27) are again the most heavily represented nations for the new season with Ronnie O'Sullivan, Judd Trump and Mark Selby occupying the top three places in the world rankings.

How popular is snooker in the world?

In 2021, the Snooker world championship had a peak live viewership of 4.1 million people which is much higher than the number in 2020 which generated a peak of 2.9 million live viewers.

Why Is Snooker So Popular In China?

How many Chinese people watch snooker?

The Betfred World Snooker Championship was watched by 210 million viewers on broadcaster CCTV5 in China.

Why are there so many Chinese snooker players?

Snooker became popular in China over the past decade, mainly due to the success of Ding Junhui, who has won the Masters and the UK Championship and was a runner-up in the World Championship. Many Chinese players are based in an academy in the English city of Sheffield, where the World Championship is held every year.

Will China dominate snooker?

Despite his lack of a world title, Ding remains a pioneering figure in the sport. He has blazed a trail for snooker in China and a group of young players have followed in his wake. The sport is now so popular in China that many experts predict that Chinese players will be the dominant force in the coming years.

Which countries like snooker?

Historically, snooker has been an English sport, even as it grew in popularity in countries like Ireland, Scotland, and Australia. Initially created in 1875 by a British officer stationed in India, snooker quickly grew to be a beloved sport in the UK.

What is a Chinese snooker?

Chinese snooker (plural Chinese snookers) (snooker) A reverse snooker position where the cue ball is in front of, rather than behind, a ball that is not on, making the shot very difficult because the bridge is hampered and the cueing angle is unnaturally high.

Is billiards popular in China?

Despite the unstable name-shifting, the sport has been enjoying growing momentum in China, now boasting more than 60 million fans. Just like snooker in Britain in the 1960s and 1970s, Chinese pool was originally seen as a game played by seedy people in unsavory places, for example, in smoky basements.

Why are Chinese players banned from snooker?

The players, including 2021 Masters champion Yan Bingtao and that year's UK championship winner Zhao Xintong, have been suspended as part of an investigation into claims of “manipulating the outcome of matches for betting purposes” by the integrity unit at the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA ...

Which sport is China best at?

International professional sports are dominated by Chinese in both table tennis and badminton. The best badminton player of all time, two-time Olympic and five-time world champion Lin Dan, is one of the biggest sports idols ever in China and famous throughout Asia.

Why are Chinese good at table tennis?

In China, table tennis is practised with religious sincerity. They have a very intense training framework developed for all the players. The training is hard, specific manuals are developed for all the players and different for top players. Players compete with other players to make their game top-level.

Which Chinese players are banned in snooker?

Yan Bingtao and Zhao Xintong, both touted as future world champions, are among the highest profile players currently suspended by the sport's WPBSA governing body during an unprecedented investigation.

Why is it called Chinese snooker?

Dennis Taylor used to explain the old term (at every opportunity) by saying it was “like a snooker, but backwards” - “like [written] Chinese”.

Who is the best Chinese table tennis player?

Ma Long (Chinese: 马龙; pinyin: Mǎ Lóng; born 20 October 1988) is a Chinese table tennis player and the reigning Olympic singles champion.

Why is China so strong in sports?

There are lots of sports schools in China and kids are encouraged to take up sports full time at a very young age. Also, there are subsidies and funding for the athletes who play the sport at a particular level. They do not have to worry about doing day jobs and taking out time for the sport.

Why are the Chinese good at snooker?

They have a large amount of clubs and also training centres, but as the sport is big and players like Ding Junhui are massive stars and money can be made then inevitably many in China will rise and become champions in the sport.

Who are the 7 Chinese snooker players banned?

Yan as well as countrymen Zhao Xintong, Lu Ning, Li Hang, Zhao Jianbo, Bai Langning, Chang Bingyu, Chen Zifan, Zhang Jiankang and Liang Wenbo have been provisionally suspended by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA).

Is China known for table tennis?

Table tennis, also known as ping pong, has been considered as the national sport of the People's Republic of China. Since table tennis became an official Olympic medal sport at Seoul 1988, Chinese athletes have dominated the sport winning 28 of a possible 32 gold medals up to Rio 2016.

Which country invented snooker?

1875. Snooker was invented by the British Army in the Indian town of Jubbulpore.