There is a general argument as to whether snooker should be considered a sport. Although it requires a considerable amount of discipline, practice and skill, the physical aspect is almost non-existent.

As it is reported by the Billiard Congress of America, snooker is amongst the safest sports in the world.

The average age of a professional billiards player is 35.

The diameter of a snooker ball is 52,5 mm.

The term "cue" comes from the French "queue" which means "tail."

The mace was the predecessor of the cue stick, and it was a narrow handle with a wooden or metal head attached to it. Balls were hit either with the head or, at a later stage, with the handle.

Early on, billiard balls were made from ivory and it took one elephant to produce 6-8 balls. Today, plastic is the most widely used material for producing billiard balls.

Billiard table cushions were at the very beginning called "banks" since they resembled riverbanks.

Billiards evolved from the 15th-century French lawn game that bore resemblance to croquet.

In the 15th century, the Church in France deemed the sport of billiards dangerous and sinful.

In 1470, the first documented billiard table was constructed for King Louis XI. It was a bed of stone, covering made of cloth, and a single hole in the centre of the playing field in to which balls were driven.

In 1765, the first billiard room was built in England. The game was played using four balls on a table which had only one pocket.

Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, had an illegal billiard room concealed in his neoclassical Monticello Estate. At that time, billiards was prohibited in the state of Virginia.

In the 1790s, Captain Mingaud, a French infantry officer, during his politically-motivated imprisonment, had a pool table in his cell and as he was perfecting his billiard skills he came up with the idea of the leather cue tip.

In 1873, as the first sport in the world, billiards had its own "World Championships."

The coin-operated billiard table appeared for the first time in 1903 and the price for one game was a single penny.

In the 1920s, which is considered to be billiards Golden Age, the biggest billiard hall was built in Detroit. Inside, there was more than 100 billiard tables and plethora of other attractions including seven-storey health spa, 88 bowling lanes, 14 cigar stands, and an exhibition room with the seating capacity of 250.

£6,1 was the prize money for the 1927 World Snooker Champion, Joe Davis.

One of the most popular movies about billiards is an American drama "The Hustler" by Robert Rossen from 1961. It is based on the Walter Tevis' novel of the same name which was published two years before the film's release.

The first company that decided to sponsor snooker was Super Crystalate in 1977.

The youngest snooker World Champion was 21-year-old Stephen Hendry in 1990.

In the 1990s, the Billiard Congress of America found out that billiards has the highest percent of professional players compared to other disciplines.

The shortest frame in professional snooker was during the match between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Joe Swail in 2001 and it lasted 7 minutes and 32 seconds.

John Higgins is referred to as The Wizard of Wishaw.