Snooker Balls
Snooker uses no numbers: fifteen reds and six colours — yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black — each worth a different score, plus the cue ball. Twenty-two balls to a full set, and every one of them has to weigh and roll the same, because in snooker the pots are long and a ball that is a fraction out shows it at distance.
The size question, and it matters more than the brand
2¹⁄₁₆" (52.4 mm) is the regulation snooker size, for a real snooker table with its narrower pockets and rounded cushions.
2¼" (57.2 mm) is the oversized set — for playing snooker on a pool table. Pool pockets are cut wider and for the bigger ball, and a regulation snooker ball on a pool table rattles and drops where it should not. If the table is a pool table, take the 2¼" set.
What's here
Aramith — the Belgian phenolic standard. Premier club sets in both sizes, and the Tournament Champion SuperPro 1G, matched to the official W.S.A. one-gram tolerance and supplied in an aluminium case: that tolerance is the whole point of a tournament set.
Aska — SB01 and SB02 in both sizes, with Grade A versions for a denser pour and a harder surface.
Cue balls and training — the Pro-Cup measles cue ball in snooker size, a magnetic cue ball for tables with a ball return, and Nick Barrow's Ultimate training cue ball with its coaching booklet.
Looking after them
Phenolic resin keeps its gloss for years, but chalk and hand oil build a film that slows the roll. Clean the set occasionally and the balls play like new; leave it, and you will blame the cloth.
Related: all billiard balls, pool balls, carom balls, 2¹⁄₁₆" pool balls and table cloth.
Guides: ball size chart and pool ball colors and numbers.
