Snooker Trivia
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7correct to beat the crowd
55 free Snooker trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Sep 2026.
Snooker was invented by bored British Army officers in India, named after a slang word for a raw recruit, and turned into a national obsession by colour television. This quiz covers the game and its history: how many balls are on the table, what the colours are worth, why a break can exceed 147, and who made the first maximums. The bulk of the questions are about the people and the moments. Joe Davis and his fifteen unbeaten world titles, Ray Reardon the ex-policeman nicknamed Dracula, Alex Higgins the Hurricane, Steve Davis being called Interesting by Spitting Image, Dennis Taylor's upside-down glasses and the 18.5 million people who stayed up for the black-ball final, Stephen Hendry's seven titles, Jimmy White's six lost finals, Ronnie O'Sullivan's five-minute 147, and the modern champions from Selby and Trump to Brecel and Zhao Xintong. There is room for Pot Black, Whispering Ted Lowe, Snooker Loopy, Big Break and Bill Werbeniuk's pints. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on the sport, the World Championship and the players, so the scores, dates and records will survive an argument in any snooker hall.
30 of 55 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What is the semicircle marked behind a snooker table's baulk line called?
The D
The D: a player breaking off, or taking the white in hand after it has been potted, may place it anywhere inside it.
Q 02Which British Army officer devised snooker's first rules in India in the 1870s and 1880s?
Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain, not the prime minister: he is said to have mocked a young officer's poor play by calling him a 'snooker', army slang for a raw first-year cadet.
Q 03What does a snooker referee call when a player fails to make a proper attempt to hit the ball on?
A miss
A miss: the opponent can have every ball put back and make the offender play the shot again, and a third miss in a row can forfeit the frame.
Q 04Snooker's rules were finalised in 1882 at Stone House in which Indian hill station?
Ootacamund
The table, by Burroughes & Watts, had been shipped to India by sea.
Q 05What may a snooker referee call when a foul leaves the next player unable to hit both sides of the ball on?
A free ball
A free ball: the player may nominate any other ball in place of the one they are on, which is how a break can reach 155 rather than 147.
Q 06In snooker, what is the foul called when the cue ball drops into a pocket after striking another ball?
An in-off
An in-off: it costs at least four points, more if a higher-value ball was involved, and the next player takes the white in hand.
Q 07If the scores are level when all the balls have been potted, how is the frame decided?
A re-spotted black
A re-spotted black: the black goes back on its spot, the next player plays from in hand, and the first pot or foul ends the frame.
Q 08What stone forms the bed beneath the cloth of a quality snooker table?
Slate
Slate: though called 12 by 6 feet, a full-size table's playing area inside the cushions is actually 11 ft 8½ in by 5 ft 10 in.
Q 09Before plastics, what were the best balls for snooker and other cue sports made from?
Ivory
Ivory: the hunt for a substitute pushed John Wesley Hyatt to experiment with cellulose nitrate, the material that became celluloid.
Q 10Which type of rest, named after a bird, is used for shots that are awkward to play by hand?
Swan
Swan: its long neck reaches over balls in the way.
Q 11A maximum break of 147 is made by potting all fifteen reds with what, then clearing the colours?
Blacks
Blacks: fifteen reds taken with fifteen blacks make 120 points, and clearing the six colours from yellow to black adds the last 27.
Q 12Who made snooker's first officially recognised maximum break?
Joe Davis
Joe Davis: the governing body at first refused to recognise his 147 because the match wasn't played under its rules, and only ratified it in 1957.
Q 13Against which player did Steve Davis make snooker's first televised maximum at the 1982 Classic?
John Spencer
John Spencer: Steve Davis's reward for making that first televised maximum was a Lada car from the tournament's sponsors.
Q 21Which Sheffield venue has staged the World Championship every year since 1977?
The Crucible Theatre
The Crucible Theatre: it takes its name from the crucible, a nod to the crucible steel that drove Sheffield's industrial growth.
Q 22Which cigarette brand sponsored the World Snooker Championship for thirty consecutive years?
Embassy
Embassy: its thirty-year run ended when Britain's ban on tobacco sponsorship finally reached snooker, alongside Formula One, in 2005.
Q 23What was six-time 1970s champion Ray Reardon nicknamed for his widow's peak and eye teeth?
Dracula
Dracula: after being buried for hours in a pit collapse, he left coal mining to join the Stoke-on-Trent police.
Q 14Which Canadian made the first maximum break at the World Championship?
Cliff Thorburn
Cliff Thorburn: while he was on the break, play stopped on the tournament's other table because his friend Bill Werbeniuk wanted to watch.
Q 15Roughly how long did Ronnie O'Sullivan's maximum break at the 1997 World Championship take?
About 5 minutes
About 5 minutes: officially timed at 5 minutes 8 seconds, it earned him £147,000 for the maximum and £18,000 for the tournament's highest break.
Q 16Which player came back from 5–9 down to beat Mark Williams 10–9 in a 2010 ranking final?
John Higgins
John Higgins: he needed a snooker in the 17th frame just to stay in the match, then won the deciding frame.
Q 17Which 1959 Joe Davis variant added orange and purple balls, raising the maximum break to 210?
Snooker plus
The orange sat between pink and blue and was worth eight; the purple was worth ten.
Q 18Why wasn't the 147 made at the 1979 Holsten Lager International captured on television?
The crew were on a break
The crew were on a break: the 147 didn't count as official either, because the table's pockets hadn't been checked against the templates.
Q 19Which BBC controller commissioned Pot Black to show off colour television?
David Attenborough
David Attenborough: the matches were recorded in advance, and reporters kept the results quiet until each one had been broadcast.
Q 20Ted Lowe told viewers, 'for those of you who are watching in black and white, the pink is next to the' what?
Green
Green: 'Whispering Ted' got his nickname because he sat among the audience, with no commentary box, and spoke softly so as not to disturb the players.
Q 24Ronnie O'Sullivan became snooker's oldest world champion in 2022 by beating which player in the final?
Judd Trump
Judd Trump: he trailed 5–12 overnight before a fightback, and O'Sullivan, aged 46, closed it out 18–13.
Q 25Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins won the 1972 world title at his first attempt, the first what to do so?
Qualifier
Qualifier: a miners' strike was on, so the final's opening session was played in dim light from a mobile generator.
Q 26Which Welshman said 'I'm in the final now, you know' on his way to winning the 1979 world title?
Terry Griffiths
Terry Griffiths: he had turned professional only the year before, and won the title in just his second professional tournament.
Q 27Steve Davis was given the sardonic nickname 'Interesting' by which satirical TV show?
Spitting Image
Spitting Image: Davis later turned the nickname into the title of his 2015 autobiography, Interesting.
Q 28Which banned kind of medication earned Canadian player Bill Werbeniuk a fine from snooker's authorities?
A beta blocker
A beta blocker: he insisted he took propranolol only on doctor's orders and couldn't play without it, but was fined anyway.
Q 29When a frame reaches a stalemate that neither player will break, what can the referee do?
Restart the frame
Restart the frame: every score in it is wiped and the balls are set up afresh, a process commonly called a re-rack.
Q 30The 1985 black-ball final drew 18.5 million viewers after midnight on which channel?
BBC Two
BBC Two: Dennis Taylor, who had trailed Steve Davis 0–8, won the deciding frame for an 18–17 win shortly after midnight.