Snooker is a Billiards style game enjoyed by millions of people around the World.
The professionals of the game are well known stars in there respective Country's and earn multi-million pound earnings throughout there careers.
But how did this game which is loved by so many come into being? The birth of Snooker comes from the 19th Century with British Army officers stationed in India.
They frequently participated in the game of English Billiards but could only play this game with 2 players.
It was then that more balls were introduced from the standard 3 used in Billiards match with multiple players playing at any 1 time.
The new games that formed were called Black Pool and Life Pool.
They finally merged in the late 19th Century to create the game of Snooker.
The name itself is credited to an Army officer of the time called Sir Neville Chamberlain, with 'Snooker' being a slang term for a first year army cadet.
Chamberlain supposedly remarked that one of the players was a 'real snooker' and the name stuck.
The new sport took a while to take off with the first major championship not taking place until 1916 and the first World championships in 1927 won by the creator of the tournament Joe Davis.
Throughout the period of the 1930s Snooker continued to increase in popularity through out the UK while Davis continued to dominate the professional game by winning every World championship up until his retirement in 1946.
Throughout the 1950s and 60s Snooker declined in popularity with the British public until television came along and rescued the fading sport.
In 1969 the BBC commissioned the programme Pot Black to show off the newly introduced colour television service and then started televising the World Championship in 1978.
This hugely increased the popularity of the game with massive television audiences across the UK now watching.
Along with the audience boost came a more dedicated and professional player as typified by the likes of Steve Davis in the 80s, Stephen Hendry in the 90s and Ronnie O'Sullivan in the 2000s.
Snooker, is now by far the most popular cue sport in the UK as well as being hugely popular in many other countries in the World including China.
With many new players coming on to the scene the future of Snooker looks secure for many years to come.