The Most Important Snooker Tournaments Around the World

Posted on | August 4, 2009 |

Whether you are a serious fan of Snooker or just a casual observer who appreciates the tremendous skill of professional snooker players, you need to know where these masters of the cue can be found.

While you can find a game of snooker being played just about anywhere in the world, from pubs to area tournaments, which draw amateur as well as professional players, the following tournaments are really where its at for those major players.

The Embassy World Championship has long been considered to be the most important and prestigious snooker tournament anywhere on earth. It first started in 1927, was cancelled during the war years of 1939 to 1945, and has been held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield for thirty years since 1977. This tournament was largely dominated by Joe Davis who won the tournament a record fifteen times.

Joe Davis was then followed by his brother Fred, who continued the family reign, winning the tournament multiple times himself. However, it must be noted that between 1958-63, no tournament was held due to waning interest. Revived in 1964, the Embassy World Championship resumed its place as the preeminent tournament in the world. In 2009, it was announced that the Embassy World Championship would continue to reside at the Crucible until at least 2014.

Following the Embassy World Championship in terms of importance are the ranking tournaments. These tournaments are used to assign points which determine the player rankings for seeding position at major tournaments. The importance of doing well at the ranking tournaments can be found in the third most important snooker tournaments, which are the “Invitationals.”

There are a considerable number of invitational tournaments, and only the best snooker players are invited. The Masters Tournament is considered to be the most prestigious of the invitational tournaments.

First held in London in 1975, the Masters Tournament offers more prize money than any other snooker tournament except for the Embassy World Championship. Only the best snooker players get invited to this tournament.

Snooker is a game of skill and the best players are enormously talented. For the fan who appreciates the dedication and skill required to be the best at this challenging snooker need only attend one of the tournaments outlined here to satisfy their requirement to view the very best players plying their craft.

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