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60 free Snooker trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 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 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01How many balls are used in a frame of snooker, including the cue ball?
22
Fifteen reds, six colours and the white.
Q 02Which British Army officer devised snooker's first rules in India in the 1870s and 1880s?
Neville Chamberlain
Not the prime minister: this Chamberlain was only revealed as the inventor in a letter to The Field in 1938.
Q 03What did the word 'snooker' originally mean in British Army slang?
A first-year or inexperienced recruit
Chamberlain used it to mock a young fellow officer's poor play at the table.
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 05How many points is the black ball worth?
7
Yellow is two, green three, brown four, blue five and pink six.
Q 06What is the minimum number of penalty points awarded for a foul?
4
The penalty rises to the value of the ball involved, up to seven for the black.
Q 07If the scores are level when all the balls have been potted, how is the frame decided?
A re-spotted black
The 1919 rules abolished draws by introducing the tiebreak.
Q 08A full-size snooker table measures 12 feet by how many feet?
6
You need a room of at least 22 by 16 feet to cue comfortably around it.
Q 09Which two colours were not part of the original snooker rules?
Brown and blue
Every ball is 2 1/16 inches across; the cue must be at least three feet long.
Q 10Which type of rest, named after a bird, is used for shots that are awkward to play by hand?
Swan
The spider is the other common rest; the traditional scoreboard resembles an abacus.
Q 11A maximum break of 147 is made by potting all fifteen reds with what, then clearing the colours?
Blacks
With a free ball at the start, the theoretical maximum rises to 155.
Q 12Who made the first officially recognised maximum break, in a 1955 exhibition in London?
Joe Davis
It came against Willie Smith at Leicester Square Hall.
Q 13Against which former world champion did Steve Davis make snooker's first televised maximum at the 1982 Classic?
John Spencer
It was made at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in Oldham.
Which Canadian made the first maximum at the World Championship, in 1983?
Q 21Ted Lowe told viewers "for those of you watching in black and white, the pink is next to the" what?
Green
'Whispering Ted' spoke softly because he sat in the audience with no commentary box.
Q 22The World Championship moved in 1977 to which Sheffield venue, where it has been staged ever since?
The Crucible Theatre
The theatre opened in 1971 and is named after the crucible steel process developed in the city.
Q 23Which cigarette brand sponsored the World Championship for thirty consecutive years from 1976 to 2005?
Embassy
The tobacco advertising ban then cut the number of professional events from 22 to 15.
Cliff Thorburn
'The Grinder' had won the world title in 1980 and was the first non-British world number one.
Q 15Ronnie O'Sullivan's Guinness World Record maximum at the 1997 World Championship took how long?
5 minutes 8 seconds
He also holds the record for the most competitive 147s, with 17.
Q 16Which player made a 148 break in 2004, the first snooker break above 147 in tournament play?
Jamie Burnett
O'Sullivan finally beat it with a 16-red 153 clearance at the 2026 World Open.
Q 17Joe Davis won how many consecutive World Championships between 1927 and 1946 before retiring unbeaten?
15
He remains the only undefeated player in the championship's history and was also world billiards champion four times.
Q 18Which 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 19The 1952 World Championship, boycotted by most professionals, was won by which Australian in a two-man field?
Horace Lindrum
He beat New Zealander Clark McConachy; the rest played the rival Match-play Championship.
Q 20Which BBC2 controller commissioned Pot Black in 1969 to show off the channel's new colour service?
David Attenborough
Ray Reardon won the first series; it was for a time BBC2's second most popular show after Morecambe and Wise.
Q 24What was six-time 1970s champion Ray Reardon nicknamed for his widow's peak and eye teeth?
Dracula
He had been a coal miner and a policeman before turning professional in his thirties.
Q 25How old was the player who broke Ray Reardon's oldest-world-champion record in 2022?
46
O'Sullivan was 46 years and 148 days old when he won his seventh title.
Q 26Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins won the 1972 world title at his first attempt, the first what to do so?
Qualifier
Only Terry Griffiths, Shaun Murphy and Zhao Xintong have since won as qualifiers.
Q 27What did Alex Higgins hope to become when he left Belfast at 15 for stables in Berkshire?
A jockey
His idol was Lester Piggott; he was banned for a season in 1990-91 after threatening to have Dennis Taylor shot.
Q 28Terry Griffiths won the 1979 world title only how many months after turning professional?
Seven
The Llanelli man beat Dennis Taylor 24-16 for a then-record £10,000 first prize.
Q 29Steve Davis was given the sardonic nickname 'Interesting' by which satirical TV show?
Spitting Image
His manager Barry Hearn called him 'Nugget' because you could put your money on him and know you'd get paid.
Q 30Steve Davis reached eight world finals in nine years in the 1980s, winning how many world titles?
Six
He was also the first player to earn £1 million in prize money.