r/snooker

I've made a browser extension that gives you an interactive birds-eye-view table alongside your livestream, with balls placed on it automatically based on the livestream.

Does commentary like "I can't quite tell if the red ball goes to the corner" or "now, has he got cover from the brown" make you itch? You just want to know, right? And half the time we never get the camera shot to see for sure what's possible.

Click "Scan" while watching a livestream and you get a table with the balls laid out: click the white ball to see what other balls you can reach and whether you can get to an angle to pot them, or click a non-cue ball to see if it can reach a pocket.

Looking for people to help test PotSpot before I unleash it on the Chrome extension store. DM or reply me if you want a sneak preview to test & give feedback!

It just needs a browser like Chrome/Edge/Vivaldi/Brave on a real computer (phones/tablets won't work). People with WST subscriptions especially welcome.

More info at https://potspot.net but the basics are that it's free and all processing is done on your own machine - no ads, no spying.

(Posting from a fresh new account because I don't want to dox my normal account 😄 I've sent a message to the mods to show I've been an active member here for a while.)

There's always a gap, but not always a potting angle…

Hi All,

Q School 2026 Event 1 is underway in Leicester. Some interesting names in the draw.

Umut Dikme played really well in WCH Qualifiers, losing to Lisowski 7-10 in R3.

Robert Milkins and Mark Davis...

On the other side, Liam Davies and Robbie McGuigan, who didn't manage to save their pro status after gaining a two-year card in 2024. Actually, I was sure they'll gonna make it, however MT is much harder experience than I thought.

Who do you support? Who do you think will make it?

Snooker clubs tend to close the curtains yet turn on the lights. Is there a reason behind this? Surely having some natural light coming in from the windows would brighten up someone’s day (pun intended)?

​

How on earth do amateur snooker players actually make it work financially?

Genuine question aimed at amateur players here because the more I think about it, the more brutal the amateur side of the game seems.

People see the tour and focus on the top professionals, but even getting to the level where you’re seriously competing on the amateur circuit looks incredibly demanding financially and logistically.

If you’re a young prospect, I assume family support is often what makes it possible early on. We hear stories like Stan Moody’s dad helping facilitate his career. But what happens when you get older and still haven’t quite broken through? Does the support network continue, or does there come a point where you’re basically on your own funding the dream?

And what about players who came to the game later in life or are grinding away while working normal jobs? How do you realistically balance:

work

practice

travel

entry fees

accommodation

trying to compete seriously

…especially in the current cost of living climate?

I genuinely don’t understand how some players survive financially unless they have:

family money

sponsorship

unusually flexible work

or are sacrificing massively elsewhere in life.

So I’d love to hear from any amateur players in here.

What’s your actual life like?

What level are you at?

Does your job accommodate tournaments?

How expensive is a typical season for you?

Do you have sponsors?

Do you think you’re realistically close to turning pro?

Or do you mainly do it for the love of competing?

And for those who were strong juniors: did the support continue into adulthood, or did there come a point where people expected you to “move on” unless you made it?

Honestly, I think even being a high-level amateur in snooker is an achievement people massively underestimate. This game is unbelievably difficult. Anyone capable of making centuries and total clearances consistently has serious ability in my eyes.

I just saw that there's a last 156 round and most players are already seeded into the last 128. How does that work? Is it that amateurs on the circuit start there and the last 156 players are just paid entrants that aren't active on the circuit already?

I thought q school started as last 128 and went down to 8 player final? Or am I way off here?

I’ve been playing regularly for a couple of years now and am feeling like buying a slightly better cue. I’ve been using an entry level centre jointed cue craft and it’s been solid but I don’t love it

After watching Hendry trialling a range of cues (all Riley/BCE) I noted he got a lot more action out of the midrange stuff than the ones that were perhaps closer to my current cue

Two questions:

When Riley advertises a cue that is down to £120 from £200 or £260 from £430, are those cues more like the upper or lower value in terms of how they compare with the competition

I’m in the East Midlands. None of the regional shops seem to stock Riley. How are they in comparison to the competition at the £200 ish level? Looks like the best shop for trying out within an hours drive is Sherwood sport, they sell cannon, Peradon, cue craft and power glide.

I’m looking for 3/4 joint and it would be nice if I could get a case, mini butt etc and get out the shop for less than £250. Any recommendations?

Following my recent defeat to a lady at a local competition, I was wondering why there are men's and women's tournaments at higher levels, and not just 1 world championship?

Unlike some other sports, and similar to Darts the sexual orientation of a competitor shouldn't make any difference. Should it?

Any non sexist opinions gratefully received.

Aside from Mr. Cues II on Chamblee Tucker, is there anywhere in Metro Atlanta where I could play snooker? I’m on the northwest side of town, so getting all the way to Mr. Cues II takes longer than I’d like.

Two weeks after this year's world championship, I have to admit my deep concerns for one player --- Si Jiahui.

From becoming the one of the youngest players to advance to the semifinals in 2023 to becoming the only top 16 player to be defeated in Round One this year, I'm uncertain what happened to him but certainly hope he could get back to the best of himself.

I first noticed him when he defeated Shaun Murphy in Round One of 2023 World Championship, back then he had sharp cueing and excellent long pot accuracy. At the time, Ding Junhui's performance wasn't very good and Zhao Xintong was under investigation; Si Jiahui was viewed as the future of Chinese Snooker and was given the nickname "Pearl".

Despite failing to become the youngest finalist in 2023 and the fact that he did have a technical disadvantage in safety exchanges and cue ball control, I generally thought he could gradually strengthen these aspects, provided that he also had a clear advantage in his shot accuracy and the ability to quickly adjust when the cue ball position wasn't perfect.

I'm sure losing to Luca Brecel in that heartbreaking semifinal gave him a lot of pressure, but he had, in the following season, some very good performances: runner-up for German Masters and Wuhan Open, semifinalist for Saudi Arabia Masters, and multiple 147 breaks (he also defeated the current world champion Wu Yize 10-4 in the final qualifier round in 2024 world championship, after being 0-4 down). Although never winning a title, he kept himself securely in the top 16 and gave us an impression that he was indeed capable of letting miracles happen.

Then we had some disappointments. His performance in the last season was not how we expected him to be like --- if I remember correctly, he never reached semifinals in any ranking matches in the 25/26 season. His playing skill also reflected this, as his cueing hasn't been that sharp and his safety shots/decisions are still questionable. It somehow feels like he's been trying to improve his shortcomings while he hasn't managed to keep his other advantages, it feels now that both of his aspects have regressed.

He is my favorite player and I do wish him all the best, however it is very likely that he will drop out of top 16 in the upcoming season because many of his points will be deducted. If you are like me who also want to see some great exhibitions from him, please feel free to share some of your ideas below!

12:00 CST : 05:00 BST : Midnight EDT : 21:00 PDT

2026 World Women's Snooker Championship丨Final丨Panchaya Channoi (THA) vs Reanne Evans (ENG)

https://preview.redd.it/whvqdgr3ez1h1.png?width=1271&format=png&auto=webp&s=1cb1b179b89ce10a4cebf212fe9b21c7c228b3c3

Reanne Evans is looking for her 13th World Championship title, Panchaya Channoi her 1st.

Game on. 🏆

This post is intended as a reminder only - please see the pinned discussion thread to comment. 🙏

Myself I barely play, but have huge interest in the sport. Wondered what level player other people are on this sub.

Read Ronnie's autobiography a few years back when I was also running a lot. And seen a few interviews with him now where he'll be chatting to Jimmy White or whoever talking about his 6+ years drink and drugs benders coz he felt so anxious and uncomfortable in his own skin.

I just watched for the millionth time his 5 minute 147. I know Ronnie has always been abit of a gurner etc. But after the worlds fastest 147 he sits down, wipes his nose with his hand. Gets a red hanky / cloth and wipes his face and gives his nose abit of a blow and a wipe and a sniff up etc.

Now having done a lot of drugs myself over the years and knowing that numb drippy feeling you always have to have a little sniff / wipe incase you have polo nose as you can feel it sort of seeping abit and want to make sure it aint obvious etc.

I play pool more than snooker and in our pool league a swear so many of the lads are in the bogs snorting and the blokes at the higher levels are deff up to it. Even to the point of blatently doing a big snort up one nostril with finger over the other at the bar etc middle of a league night etc. And admittedly, I've played some of my best, easiest pool after a couple of stripes.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone else has always thought Ronnie has never been totally proud of that 147. He says he was in fear and just wanted to get it out the way and says he wasn't playing that well etc. But I wonder if he feels like the world record is somehow 'marred' with the fact he was sniffed up at the time.

Did they do routine drug tests in pro snooker back then?

Has anyone else thought the same? Watched the 147 and his nose wiping and sniffing after and thought "I've seen that a few times" Well he continued in that championship and didn't win that year but also no signs he had an ongoing cold.. apart from the columbian cold.

I'm not a Ronnie hater. Like I say, read his book followed and loved him for years but I can't be the only one who's thought there was a good reason for his ability to play as the 'rocket' back then.

Obviously the most gifted of all time but I'm sure there might be abit of performance enhancement there....

Do you think Jimmy would have had a better career if he didn't have it?

I assume meds in the 80s and 90s weren't as effective as they are now (he says he feels basically normal now on what I assume are stimulants) so even if he knew about it maybe it wouldn't have made a difference.

I'm not summing up that missed black simply down to that, I think there's times where it was just pressure. But to have your mind race the way it can with ADHD, it must have a big negative effect in this game, especially under pressure.

I believe he'd have won at least one if he didn't have it, but not sure if he would if he was treated in his youth.

He says he thinks a few players have it on tour, I wonder who it is. I mean everyone misses sitters, and it'd be wrong to speculate on who has mental disorders, but I do wonder whether certain players do when they are in their prime and so inconsistent (one particular person comes to mind)

I mean in a game where concentration is so important, having a disorder that specifically affects it is going to be a big nerf to a players game.

Ideally they say cue should be about your shoulder length but my shoulder length then comes around 155cm (61").

Is it realistic to get a cue that long? Tall players please share your experience and what is your cue size.