User Comments

1. 

   5/19/08

   BilliardsBoutique

   Snooker is a great game I know that in the USA it does not have the popularity of pool but over here it is our number 2 CueSport game (after the small ball English pool game). Snooker has about 4.5 million players in the UK and the popularity across Europe and Asia is growing at a very fast pace!
   
   I think snooker players fair very well when moving to pool for these two simple reasons:
   
   1. Table is Larger 2. Pockets are tighter. Playing pool is like potting into buckets for these guys!!!

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2. 

   5/20/08

   CueSportTV

   The top snooker players do earn a lot more money than the top pool playing professionals but over the last 4-5 years (since the ban on tobacco advertising in the UK) prize monies have dwindled and ranking tournaments are few and far between.
   
   The main tour this season had 7 tournaments including the World Championships.
   
   It is a myth however that all snooker players earn vast sums of money, this is left the select few, generally speaking (there are a few exceptions) the top 16 professionals have their status protected through better seedings in tournaments, this means they have a guaranteed (but modest) income. Win a tournament then yes, you will earn a decent sum of money - the world championships is £250,000 ($500,000) to the winner, but that is only one event. The remainder of the main tour (80 players) struggle to make ends meet as the standard is absolutely amazing, it is difficult to get a strong hold in the rankings unless you are exceptional.
   
   Another avenue open to the top snooker players like O'Sullivan, Jimmy White & Steve Davis is endorsements and getting paid £3000 for an exhibition appearance.
   
   I received something from an unnamed management company and the logo's on the players shirts command fees up to £35,000 for the season.
   
   I would love to see a world pool tour, with much more organisation and less politics, it is the players that suffer!
   
   www.cuesport.tv

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