Professional snooker players play on the World Snooker Tour.
Events on the Tour are only open to players on the Tour and selected amateur players, but most events require qualification.
Players can qualify for the Tour either by being high enough on the world rankings from prior seasons, winning continental championships, or through the Challenge Tour or Q School events.
Players on the Tour generally gain two-year participation for the events.

Reflecting the game's aristocratic origins, the majority of tournaments on the professional circuit require players to wear waistcoats and bow ties.
In recent years the necessity for this has been questioned, and players such as Stephen Maguire have been granted medical exemptions from wearing a bow tie.

The Tour also has an official world rankings scheme, with only players on the Tour receiving a ranking.
Ranking points, earned by players through their performances over the previous two seasons, determine the current world rankings.
A player's ranking determines what level of qualification he or she requires for specific tournaments.
The elite of professional snooker are generally regarded as the "top-16" ranking players.
They are not required to pre-qualify for some of the tournaments, such as the Shanghai Masters, the Masters and the World Snooker Championship.
Certain other events, such as those in the Coral Cup series, use the one-year ranking list to qualify; these use the results of the current season to denote participants.
Currently, the Tour contains 125 players, with players either in the top 64 on the official ranking list, or finishing as one of the top eight prize money earners during the most recent season, guaranteed a tour place for the next season, this being assessed after the World Championship.

The oldest professional snooker tournament is the World Championship, held annually since 1927 (except during World War II and between 1958 and 1963).
The tournament has been held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England, since 1977, and was sponsored by Embassy from 1976 to 2005.
Since the ban on advertising tobacco products, the championships have been sponsored by betting companies.

The World Championship is the most highly valued prize in professional snooker in terms of financial reward (£500,000 for the winner, formerly £300,000), ranking points and prestige.
It is televised extensively in the UK by the BBC and gains significant coverage in Europe on Eurosport and in East Asia on CCTV-5.
The World Championships is part of the Triple Crown along with the UK Championship and the non-ranking Masters.
These events are valued by some players as the most prestigious, and are also some of the oldest competitions.
 Winning all three events is a difficult task, and has only been done by 11 players.

With some events having been criticised for matches taking too long, an alternative series of timed tournaments has been organised by Matchroom Sport chairman Barry Hearn.
The shot-timed Premier League Snooker was established, with seven players invited to compete at regular United Kingdom venues, televised on Sky Sports.
Players had twenty-five seconds to take each shot, with five time-outs per player per match.
While some success was achieved with this format, it generally did not receive the same amount of press attention or status as the regular ranking tournaments.
This event has been taken out of the tour since 2013, when the Champion of Champions was established.
The Champion of Champions saw players qualify by virtue of winning other events in the season, with 16 champions competing.

In 2015, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association submitted an unsuccessful bid for snooker to be played at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Another bid has been put forward for 2024 Summer Olympics through the World Snooker Federation, founded in 2017.
A trial for the format for cue sports to be played at the 2024 games was put forward at the 2019 World Team Trophy, also featuring nine-ball and carom billiards.
Snooker has been contested at the World Games since 2001,
Professional snooker players play on the World Snooker Tour. Events on the Tour are only open to players on the Tour and selected amateur players, but most events require qualification. Players can qualify for the Tour either by being high enough on the world rankings from prior seasons, winning continental championships, or through the Challenge Tour or Q School events. Players on the Tour generally gain two-year participation for the events.
Reflecting the game's aristocratic origins, the majority of tournaments on the professional circuit require players to wear waistcoats and bow ties. In recent years the necessity for this has been questioned, and players such as Stephen Maguire have been granted medical exemptions from wearing a bow tie.
The Tour also has an official world rankings scheme, with only players on the Tour receiving a ranking. Ranking points, earned by players through their performances over the previous two seasons, determine the current world rankings. A player's ranking determines what level of qualification he or she requires for specific tournaments. The elite of professional snooker are generally regarded as the "top-16" ranking players. They are not required to pre-qualify for some of the tournaments, such as the Shanghai Masters, the Masters and the World Snooker Championship. Certain other events, such as those in the Coral Cup series, use the one-year ranking list to qualify; these use the results of the current season to denote participants. Currently, the Tour contains 125 players, with players either in the top 64 on the official ranking list, or finishing as one of the top eight prize money earners during the most recent season, guaranteed a tour place for the next season, this being assessed after the World Championship.
The oldest professional snooker tournament is the World Championship, held annually since 1927 (except during World War II and between 1958 and 1963). The tournament has been held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England, since 1977, and was sponsored by Embassy from 1976 to 2005. Since the ban on advertising tobacco products, the championships have been sponsored by betting companies.
The World Championship is the most highly valued prize in professional snooker in terms of financial reward (£500,000 for the winner, formerly £300,000), ranking points and prestige. It is televised extensively in the UK by the BBC and gains significant coverage in Europe on Eurosport and in East Asia on CCTV-5. The World Championships is part of the Triple Crown along with the UK Championship and the non-ranking Masters. These events are valued by some players as the most prestigious, and are also some of the oldest competitions.  Winning all three events is a difficult task, and has only been done by 11 players.
With some events having been criticised for matches taking too long, an alternative series of timed tournaments has been organised by Matchroom Sport chairman Barry Hearn. The shot-timed Premier League Snooker was established, with seven players invited to compete at regular United Kingdom venues, televised on Sky Sports. Players had twenty-five seconds to take each shot, with five time-outs per player per match. While some success was achieved with this format, it generally did not receive the same amount of press attention or status as the regular ranking tournaments. This event has been taken out of the tour since 2013, when the Champion of Champions was established. The Champion of Champions saw players qualify by virtue of winning other events in the season, with 16 champions competing.
In 2015, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association submitted an unsuccessful bid for snooker to be played at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Another bid has been put forward for 2024 Summer Olympics through the World Snooker Federation, founded in 2017. A trial for the format for cue sports to be played at the 2024 games was put forward at the 2019 World Team Trophy, also featuring nine-ball and carom billiards. Snooker has been contested at the World Games since 2001, 
Snooker