Snooker

What is snooker?

Snooker is played on a 12-foot table with fifteen reds and six colours: pot a red, then a colour, repeating — a break of 147 is the maximum. It rewards safety play and nerve as much as potting, and its professional tour is run by the WPBSA and World Snooker Tour.^[1] [2]

How does the professional game work?

A ranking-tournament circuit runs from summer to spring, prize money building the world rankings that seed everything; the top sixteen earn automatic places at the majors. The Triple Crown — the World Championship, UK Championship and the Masters — defines careers, and Q School provides the documented entry route to the tour.^[2] [3]

Where is snooker strong?

Britain remains the professional base — the Crucible its cathedral, Ronnie O'Sullivan its greatest draw — but the game's centre of gravity is shifting east: China has produced a wave of elite players and huge audiences, and Wu Yize's 2026 world title, in an 18–17 final over Shaun Murphy, confirmed the generational shift.^[3] [4]

How is snooker awarded?

• The Triple Crown — World, UK and Masters titles.^[2]
• World rankings — the two-year rolling money list that governs seeding and tour status.^[2]
• Maximum breaks — ratified 147s, the sport's perfect frames.^[1]
• Tour cards — via Q School, the amateur circuits or ranking retention.^[2]

Who has won the most in snooker?

World titles are given twice, because they are two different things. The modern era runs from 1969, when the championship returned to a knockout draw. The all-time list reaches back to 1927 and includes Joe Davis's fifteen consecutive knockout titles and the 1964–68 challenge series in which John Pulman defended seven times — Pulman's eighth, from 1957, is implied by the professional association's own total rather than confirmed year by year. Through the 2026 final, in which Wu Yize beat Shaun Murphy 18–17; ranking titles run to the Wuhan Open of 29 August 2026 and the Triple Crown table to the 2025 UK Championship. One conflict is left visible: the association's all-time table gives Judd Trump 30 ranking titles and the tour's own player page gives 31, and the lower figure is used. The Masters counts towards the Triple Crown but is not a ranking event.

Most World Championship titles — modern era (1969–2026)

Most World Championship titles — all time, including the pre-1969 challenge era

Most ranking event titles (1974 – present)

Most Triple Crown titles

Women's snooker — most World Women's Championship titles (1976–2026)

Medal lists rank on total medals, then gold, then silver; title lists rank on titles. Equal totals share a rank, and every table states the period and the last event it includes. Verified September 2026.^{[5] [6] [7] [8]}