Experiencing Live Snooker For The First Time
29th November 2025 - New Experience Number 30.
Experiencing live snooker for the first time turned out to be one of the most surprising ‘new things’ I’ve tried.
Watching a sport I knew nothing about, I soon discovered why so many people are gripped by the game.
The UK Championship
Alongside the World Championship and The Masters, the UK Championship tournament makes up the Triple Crown, which consists of the three prestigious events in the annual snooker calendar. And it is held in the city I live in. How brilliant is that?!
This important snooker event has regularly been taking place in York at The Barbican, bringing visitors to the city and entertaining locals alike. Yet I’d never been before.
Going To Watch A Sport I’d Never Paid Any Attention To
One of the things I love about trying 52 new things a year is that it makes me explore experiences I would never ordinarily consider. I’d never been interested in snooker. I remember my grandma watching it, but it’s not something I’d ever paid any attention to.
I didn’t know the rules, and didn’t really know what to expect, but seeing as the UK Championship is held in York I thought I’d give it a go and got tickets for myself and My Other Half.
Listening To The Commentators
Being an absolute newbie to the sport, I had no idea what was being sold in the red boxes in the foyer.
My Other Half told me that they were fan radios; earpieces which meant spectators could hear the commentators.
Deciding to go all-in for this new experience, I bought one so that I could fully immerse myself in the event.
It was quite a bulky gadget, like one headphone that you could wear over either ear, and it was great to hear the commentary. They explained what was going on, referencing previous games and making observations about the players’ performance.
Picking Up The Rules - Experiencing Live Snooker For The First Time
As the match began I had my fan radio switched on. However I found this to be a distraction. Obviously the commentators weren’t going back to basics to explain the rules for people who had never watched snooker before. Instead, they were talking about the game and referring to the shots by their technical names.
As someone who knew nothing about the rules, I felt that I needed to simply watch a game and understand how the scoring worked, before I progressed to learning the language.
So for the first frame I switched off the commentary and focused on what was happening on the table; picking up the sequence the balls needed to be potted in; how the scoring worked; the reasons play swapped between the opponents, and starting to get an understanding for what the term ‘snookered’ meant.
Whilst personally I’d found it distracting at first, the fan radio definitely helped to bring it all together throughout the event. It added a social element to spectating in silence. There were often some entertaining comments that made it feel as though I was in on the joke with all of the other people listening too.
Newfound Respect
I was in utter admiration of the players. They’re professionals so of course they should be good, but it seemed so far removed from the way I’ve seen people playing pool. I know they are different games, but there are some similarities.
When I’ve seen people playing pool in a pub, there’s often a lot of eyeing-up the balls and walking around the table trying to find the best angle for a shot, then there’s usually the multiple back and forth motions of the cue before it finally strikes the ball.
I was in awe of how quickly the professionals could take the shot. It’s as though their ability to identify the angles and how hard to hit the ball all happened within seconds. They barely seemed to move their head to survey the table. They didn’t hesitate with the cue, and they hit the balls with confidence.
I can’t begin to imagine just how much time, practice, and of course talent, it must take to get to that level.
The Atmosphere
I have never been to watch a sport in complete silence before. Not even hushed whispers could be heard inside The Barbican.
Whilst it certainly felt odd at first and I almost didn’t dare to move in my seat, as the game progressed it just added to the tension of the match.
A spectator who sneezed as a shot was about to be taken, not once, but twice, was lucky not to be asked to leave!
They are extremely strict about keeping the arena quiet and minimising anything that could disturb the players. Staff regularly told people to put their phones away even if they were on silent, the glow of the screen causing a potential distraction. If you leave to go to the bar or the toilet, the staff will often refuse to let you back in until after the frame has finished, depending on where your seats are.
All eyes were constantly on the game, as everyone paid close attention to the shots and got completely engrossed in the moment.
The Game - Experiencing Live Snooker For The First Time
It was day one, match one, of the tournament, and we were incredibly lucky with the game we got to see.
Reigning UK champion Judd Trump was playing previous champion Stephen Maguire. These were exceptional players.
It was a brilliant introduction to the game. There were so many cat and mouse moments, such as when they knew play would go to their opponent and deliberately left the ball in an almost impossible position, or when an unexpected foul completely shifted the game.
I absolutely loved it. I hadn’t anticipated how much I would enjoy watching the snooker, how strategic it was, or how psychological it was, and it had me hooked.
Trying New Experiences Can Change Your Opinion
We often don’t try things because we think we won’t like them. Perhaps someone else’s opinion has influenced our perception, or maybe we just don’t know enough to know if it’s for us.
Trying something for the first time ourselves lets us form our own opinions, and you never know, you might be surprised by the experience.
Snooker may never have been on my radar before, but watching it live proved that trying something unfamiliar can be far more rewarding than expected. I’m definitely a convert, and with my newfound understanding of the game I excitedly tuned in to watch the final at home on TV.
Want To Try It Yourself?
- To visit the UK Championship like we did, visit the York Barbican website for dates and tickets.
- World Snooker have details about snooker games across the world including dates of events, so why not see if anything is coming up that you could go to?
- For information about snooker and the latest updates, BBC Sport is a good website to visit.
Cost Of Experience
- I managed to buy resale tickets directly through The Barbican, and these cost us £16 each.
- Usual ticket prices for the UK Champtionship usually start from around £35.
- Ticket prices will vary depending on the game and the venue.
- Tickets for finals and semi-finals are often more expensive, so if you want to keep costs down for a first experience it’s worth going earlier in the tournament.
- The fan radio cost £12, and would work for the duration of the entire tournament, so it’s a bargain if you’re going over multiple days.
Recommendations
- Don’t worry too much if you don’t know the rules. It’s fairly easy to pick them up as you watch the game.
- Turn your phone off. Or at least turn it to silent. You don’t want to be that person who disrupts the game.
- Use the fan radio. If it’s your first time watching the snooker it’s a brilliant way to immerse yourself in what’s going on, although you might want to watch the first frame without listening to it.
- Enjoy the experience. Let me know how you get on if you give it a go.