History of the billiard is the 15th century, but the snooker is a later version of it. In the late 19th century, billiards was popular among British officers stationed in India and players often have experimented with variations of the game. The most common version is that snooker was invented in the officers' club in Jabalpur kind of Neville Chamberlain, add a table colored balls. The word "snooker" in army slang meant cadets pervogodok. Then it has come to mean new to the game, and eventually became the name of the game.

British champion in billiards John Roberts visited India in 1885, where he met with Chamberlain. Chamberlain showed him a new game, which Roberts subsequently brought to England. Tournaments snooker was not held until 1916. In 1927, Joe Davis, the best player of those times, organized the first World Championships and won the top prize of 6.1 pound (approximately equal to the sum of 200 pounds today). He has won all the championships until 1946. In the mid-20th century, snooker decayed to such an extent that from 1958 to 1963, there were no tournaments.

In 1969, the BBC has established a new tournament in snooker, called Pot Black. The game of colored balls and bright wizards became really popular. In the early 1970s. World Championship Snooker began coverage on TV. By 1976, with the growth of snooker broadcasts further increases its popularity .. Since 1977, there rating professional players. The game flowed money and a new generation of players such as Steve Davis, a young, serious and purposeful. The first maximum break of 147 points, shown on TV, owned by Steve Davis, made it into a match with John Spencer in 1982 at a tournament Lada Classic, in Oldham. The first maximum break at the World Cup was made by Cliff Thorburn Canadian. Top players quickly became rich. In the pop charts there was a song about snooker Snooker Loopy by Chas & Dave. Perhaps the peak of the golden era of snooker's world championship began in 1985, when 18.5 million viewers (a third of the UK population) looked BBC2, when Dennis Taylor won the match in a deep Steve Davis, after midnight. This match and the this day is considered one of the most memorable in the history of British television. Cnuker remains extremely popular in the UK, ranking second after football. The game is new enthusiasts from different parts of the world.