The myth that snooker is popular and profitable.

All day and no replies. Where are the people who like to blow the snooker horn?

I keep reading about how snooker is thriving and pool is dying. Whats the deal?
 
The snooker player doing the complaining in the article makes between 300,000 and 400,000 pounds a year, in dollars that is between $450,000 and $600,000.
 
I asked Darren Appleton about this a couple of weeks ago and he said the big Riley snooker clubs in England were closing at a rate similar to pool rooms in the U.S.
 
wayne said:
The snooker player doing the complaining in the article makes between 300,000 and 400,000 pounds a year, in dollars that is between $450,000 and $600,000.
Click to expand...

It's all in the expectations. He's comparing himself to tennis pros or golf pros. Of course he draws the short end of that stick.

The earnings of US pool pros compare unfavorably to anyone with a 9-5 job.
 
ok I'll bite

That was coming from the guy that shows up like this

8580757032_bfd17e672d_b.jpg


http://www.cuetracker.net/pages/prizeMoney.php?alltime&status=p

In GBP

Player Prize Money
1 Stephen Hendry 8.643.559
2 Ronnie O'Sullivan 6.839.664
3 John Higgins 5.722.831
4 Steve Davis 4.641.992
5 Mark Williams 4.295.618
6 Jimmy White 4.172.148
7 Ken Doherty 3.355.344
8 Peter Ebdon 3.174.543
9 John Parrott 3.048.388
10 Alan McManus 2.221.788
11 Matthew Stevens 2.168.710
12 Stephen Lee 2.024.051
13 Mark Selby 1.897.582
14 Shaun Murphy 1.806.545
15 Neil Robertson 1.734.480
16 Graeme Dott 1.683.270
17 James Wattana 1.638.203
18 Nigel Bond 1.590.996
19 Ding Junhui 1.549.600
20 Paul Hunter 1.535.730
21 Allister Carter 1.399.700
22 Marco Fu 1.388.055
23 Stephen Maguire 1.377.665
24 Joe Swail 1.111.865
25 Mark King 1.091.400
26 Tony Drago 1.077.113
27 Anthony Hamilton 1.059.620
28 Joe Perry 1.056.970
29 Dave Harold 1.046.690
30 Terry Griffiths 1.020.693
31 Darren Morgan 1.012.728
32 Neal Foulds 1.011.628
33 Fergal O'Brien 1.004.310
34 Judd Trump 922.782
35 Mark Allen 878.600
36 Gary Wilkinson 868.734
37 Dennis Taylor 861.995
38 Stuart Bingham 808.670
39 Dominic Dale 806.675
40 Willie Thorne 802.701
41 Mike Hallett 785.073
42 Steve James 758.213
43 Ryan Day 681.140
44 Joe Johnson 664.488
45 Andy Hicks 658.240
46 Mark Davis 650.755
47 Barry Hawkins 646.710
48 Alain Robidoux 635.999
49 David Gray 635.020
50 Ian McCulloch 608.110
51 Chris Small 579.800
52 Dean Reynolds 566.788
53 Doug Mountjoy 563.631
54 Michael Holt 549.155
55 Ricky Walden 545.895
56 Robert Milkins 533.005
57 David Roe 528.192
58 Jamie Burnett 521.385
59 Cliff Thorburn 521.198
60 Gerard Greene 511.990
61 Tony Knowles 509.370
62 Drew Henry 495.875
63 Marcus Campbell 488.435
64 Rod Lawler 487.975
65 Jamie Cope 486.235
66 Martin Clark 476.036
67 Brian Morgan 475.003
68 Michael Judge 457.088
69 Quinten Hann 432.600
70 Barry Pinches 414.663
71 Tony Meo 408.285
72 Dene O'Kane 373.087
73 Andrew Higginson 372.010
74 Alex Higgins 367.452
75 Billy Snaddon 352.210
76 Martin Gould 350.107
77 Jimmy Michie 349.480
78 Tony Jones 334.159
79 Paul Davies 328.295
80 Tom Ford 327.650
81 Anthony Davies 317.475
82 Stuart Pettman 309.375
83 Mike Dunn 286.055
84 Patrick Wallace 282.210
85 Jonathan Birch 278.665
86 Dave Finbow 275.095
87 Mark Bennett 274.719
88 Rory McLeod 273.925
89 Jason Ferguson 269.335
90 Wayne Jones 268.346
91 Alfie Burden 263.760
92 Terry Murphy 259.910
93 Mick Price 257.749
94 Adrian Gunnell 256.540
95 Silvino Francisco 247.408
96 Tony Chappel 243.116
97 Liang Wenbo 242.185
98 Peter Francisco 240.672
99 Peter Lines 238.295
100 Shokat Ali 227.395
 
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Slasher...According to that article, the numbers would be quite a bit smaller, if you showed them for just 2012, for example. Still, even for all time winnings, snooker players have beaten the poolplayers in earnings...by a lot! :eek::D

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
 
From the BBC

Elite players currently get prize money even if they are knocked out in their opening match, but that is about to change.
2012 World Snooker Championship prize money
Winner: £250,000
Runner-up: £125,000
Semi-finals: £52,000
Quarter-finals: £24,050
Last 16: £16,000
Last 32: £12,000
Last 48: £8,200
Last 64: £4,600
"The principle will be you have to win at least one game before you get any prize money," said Hearn.
"At the moment a top-16 player is guaranteed about £65,000 annually before he takes his cue out of his case.
"If you have a ranking system based on prize money, that's a hell of a start. Under the new system, if a player makes the last 16 in each tournament, he will be guaranteed about £90,000."
Hearn says the total prize money in snooker has risen from £3.5m to £8m in three years. Critics say there are far more tournaments, greater travel involved (five ranking events are in China) and less money in some competitions and for highest breaks.
In the two years to November 2012, every player in the world's top 32 earned at least £100,000 in prize money, but no-one ranked below 48 won more than £50,000 during that period.
 
Slasher said:
ok I'll bite

That was coming from the guy that shows up like this

http://www.cuetracker.net/pages/prizeMoney.php?alltime&status=p

In GBP

Player Prize Money
1 Stephen Hendry 8.643.559
2 Ronnie O'Sullivan 6.839.664
3 John Higgins 5.722.831
4 Steve Davis 4.641.992
5 Mark Williams 4.295.618
6 Jimmy White 4.172.148
7 Ken Doherty 3.355.344
8 Peter Ebdon 3.174.543
9 John Parrott 3.048.388
10 Alan McManus 2.221.788
11 Matthew Stevens 2.168.710
12 Stephen Lee 2.024.051
13 Mark Selby 1.897.582
14 Shaun Murphy 1.806.545
15 Neil Robertson 1.734.480
16 Graeme Dott 1.683.270
17 James Wattana 1.638.203
18 Nigel Bond 1.590.996
19 Ding Junhui 1.549.600
20 Paul Hunter 1.535.730
21 Allister Carter 1.399.700
22 Marco Fu 1.388.055
23 Stephen Maguire 1.377.665
24 Joe Swail 1.111.865
25 Mark King 1.091.400
26 Tony Drago 1.077.113
27 Anthony Hamilton 1.059.620
28 Joe Perry 1.056.970
29 Dave Harold 1.046.690
30 Terry Griffiths 1.020.693
31 Darren Morgan 1.012.728
32 Neal Foulds 1.011.628
33 Fergal O'Brien 1.004.310
34 Judd Trump 922.782
35 Mark Allen 878.600
36 Gary Wilkinson 868.734
37 Dennis Taylor 861.995
38 Stuart Bingham 808.670
39 Dominic Dale 806.675
40 Willie Thorne 802.701
41 Mike Hallett 785.073
42 Steve James 758.213
43 Ryan Day 681.140
44 Joe Johnson 664.488
45 Andy Hicks 658.240
46 Mark Davis 650.755
47 Barry Hawkins 646.710
48 Alain Robidoux 635.999
49 David Gray 635.020
50 Ian McCulloch 608.110
51 Chris Small 579.800
52 Dean Reynolds 566.788
53 Doug Mountjoy 563.631
54 Michael Holt 549.155
55 Ricky Walden 545.895
56 Robert Milkins 533.005
57 David Roe 528.192
58 Jamie Burnett 521.385
59 Cliff Thorburn 521.198
60 Gerard Greene 511.990
61 Tony Knowles 509.370
62 Drew Henry 495.875
63 Marcus Campbell 488.435
64 Rod Lawler 487.975
65 Jamie Cope 486.235
66 Martin Clark 476.036
67 Brian Morgan 475.003
68 Michael Judge 457.088
69 Quinten Hann 432.600
70 Barry Pinches 414.663
71 Tony Meo 408.285
72 Dene O'Kane 373.087
73 Andrew Higginson 372.010
74 Alex Higgins 367.452
75 Billy Snaddon 352.210
76 Martin Gould 350.107
77 Jimmy Michie 349.480
78 Tony Jones 334.159
79 Paul Davies 328.295
80 Tom Ford 327.650
81 Anthony Davies 317.475
82 Stuart Pettman 309.375
83 Mike Dunn 286.055
84 Patrick Wallace 282.210
85 Jonathan Birch 278.665
86 Dave Finbow 275.095
87 Mark Bennett 274.719
88 Rory McLeod 273.925
89 Jason Ferguson 269.335
90 Wayne Jones 268.346
91 Alfie Burden 263.760
92 Terry Murphy 259.910
93 Mick Price 257.749
94 Adrian Gunnell 256.540
95 Silvino Francisco 247.408
96 Tony Chappel 243.116
97 Liang Wenbo 242.185
98 Peter Francisco 240.672
99 Peter Lines 238.295
100 Shokat Ali 227.395
Click to expand...

Owning an expensive car doesn't prove much. I know a guy who drives a $80'000 Corvette and lives in a trailer house.


The all time money list is a red herring. I am talking about the current state of snooker. Other than the top pros most of these guys are not making a lot of money yearly.

Snooker Halls are closing, TV coverage is spotty, sponsors have been dropping off for awhile, the average age of snooker enthusiasts is above 60.
All the same problems as pool. I will admit that the money in snooker is still better than pool but the gap seems to be closing.

Saturday 5 September 2009 19.10 EDT
The Observer
"A new snooker season starts tomorrow with the sport in its worst commercial position since becoming mainstream TV entertainment more than 30 years ago."

"Players are growing increasingly restive over the large gaps between substantial tournaments and the low level of prize money. Only 43 of the 96 players on the professional circuit earned more than £27,000 from it last season."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009/sep/06/snooker-shanghai-masters-wpbsa
 
I wouldn't think pool comes anywhere near a $12,000,000 annual prize fund.

I was at last years worlds and the latter stages were all sold out and they were not all over 60.
It is in decline in the UK, it had a good run but the expansion in China has been massive.
 
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I hope snooker and all cue sports have an upturn. I am not against snooker by any means. We just got a snooker table in our local pool hall so I guess we are doing our part. :o

If snooker gets back to the glory days of huge stadiums of fans I will be the first one to stand up and cheer. My point was that all cue sports seem to be dwindling.
 
declining in the UK, US Canada for sure but World Snooker has almost tripled the prize fund in 3 years, spectacular in the current climate and considering it has never ever been on par with golf (no pun intended) or tennis makes Hearn a genius. Trump is young and naive and has unrealistic expectations. Pool organization on the other hand is just a total free for all mess.
 
Slasher said:
declining in the UK, US Canada for sure but World Snooker has almost tripled the prize fund in 3 years, spectacular in the current climate and considering it has never ever been on par with golf (no pun intended) or tennis makes Hearn a genius. Trump is young and naive and has unrealistic expectations. Pool organization on the other hand is just a total free for all mess.
Click to expand...

No argument on the pool organization. That's a fact.
 
Most recent 12 month prize list

10 Ranking Tournaments

Wuxi Classic.
Winner £75,000 ($112,500)
Runner-up £30,000
Semi-finals £18,000
Quarter-finals £10,000
Last 16 £7,500
Last 32 £6,000
Last 48 £2,300
Last 64 £1,500
High TV break £2,000
High non-TV break £200
Total £400,000 ($600,000)

Australian Goldfields Open
Winner: £$70,000 ($105,000)
Runner-up: $30,000
Semi-finals: $20,000
Quarter-finals: $15,000
Last 16: $10,000
Last 32: $7,500
Last 48: $2,000
High TV break: $2,500
High non-TV break: $500
Total: $435,000 ($652.500)

Shanghai Masters
Winner: £75,000 ($112.500)
Runner-up: £30,000
Semi-finals: £18,000
Quarter-finals: £10,000
Last 16: £7,500
Last 32: £6,000
Last 48: £2,300
Last 64: £1,500
High TV break: £2,000
High non-TV break: £200
Total: £400,000 ($600,000)

International Championship
Winner: £125,000 ($187,500)
Runner-up: £62,500
Semi-finals: £30,000
Quarter-finals: £17,500
Last 16: £12,000
Last 32: £7,000
Last 48: £3,000
Last 64: £1,500
High TV break: £2,000
High non-TV break: £500
Total: £600,000 ($900,000)

UK Championship
Winner: £125,000 ($187,500)
Runner-up: £50,000
Semi-finals: £25,000
Quarter-finals: £17,000
Last 16: £11,000
Last 32: £7,500
Last 48: £5,500
Last 64: £2,000
High TV break: £3,500
High non-TV break: £500
Total: £625,000 ($937,500)

German Masters
Winner: 60,000 Euros ($78,000)
Runner-up: 32,000 Euros
Semi-finals: 16,000 Euros
Quarter-finals: 9,000 Euros
Last 16: 4,500 Euros
Last 32: 2,750 Euros
Last 64: 1,500 Euros
High TV break: 2,000 Euros
Total: 300,000 Euros ($390,000)

Welsh Open
Winner: £50,000 ($75,000)
Runner-up: £30,000
Semi-finals: £16,000
Quarter-finals: £10,000
Last 16: £4,000
Last 32: £2,000
Last 64: £1,000
High TV break: £1,500
High non-TV break: £500
Total: £250,000 ($375,000)

Haikou World Open
Winner: £85,000 ($127,500)
Runner-up: £35,000
Semi-finals: £20,000
Quarter-finals: £11,000
Last 16: £7,500
Last 32: £6,000
Last 48: £2,300
Last 64: £1,500
High TV break: £3,500
High non-TV break: £700
Total: £425,000 ($637,500)

China Open
Winner: £85,000 ($127,500)
Runner-up: £35,000
Semi-finals: £20,000
Quarter-finals: £11,000
Last 16: £7,500
Last 32: £6,000
Last 48: £2,300
Last 64: £1,500
High TV break: £3,500
High non-TV break: £700
Total: £425,000 ($637,500)

World Championship
Winner's share £250,000 ($375,000)
Total prize fund £1,152,500 ($1,728,750)

In addition there are:

13 Players Tour Championship installments, plus the Grand Final
http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/Tournaments/PTCs
Grand Final
Winner: £100,000 ($150,000)
Runner-up: £40,000
Semi-finals: £20,000
Quarter-finals: £9,500
Last 16: £5,000
Last 32: £2,500
High break: £2,000
Total: £300,000 ($450,000)

and 6 Invitational tournaments
http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/Tournaments/InvitationEvents
including
The Masters
Winner: £175,000 ($262,500)
Runner-up: £85,000
Semi-finals: £40,000
Quarter-finals: £20,000
Last 16: £9,000
High break: £8,000
Total prize fund: £500,000 ($750,000)
The Masters is restricted to the top 16 players, so you get $13,500 for just showing up. :D
 
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Never understand the Pro pool players sense of entitlement.
At the league and amateur level you play for yourself, at the pro level you enter the world of entertainment. Sponsors pay to advertise, the more popular the product they associate with the more they like you and the more money they invest.
It's simple math, you are only worth what the market will bare.
 
when the tobacco money left snooker due to the british tobacco advertising ban that stopped it from being highly profitable
 
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