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English billiards and its many offshoots – pool, snooker, 9-ball, 8-ball and trick pool – are best known as games played in smoky pubs across the world, sometimes for money, sometimes for fun, sometimes for both.
Billiards first made an appearance in the 1400s at the court of France’s King Louis XI and the game has a long history in Europe. But the game – or games – as we know them today only became popular in the early 20th century.
Although many variations of billiard evolved during the 19th century, most enjoyed only a brief period of popularity before fading into obscurity. Only snooker and pool have survived more or less intact, though the rules tend to change every few months or so.
As in most Western countries, snooker and pool in South Africa are wildly popular amateur sports, with various leagues, clubs and competitions dotted around the country and pool tables to be found in most pubs.
Professionally, however, it’s still something of a minor sport with no central governing body though this has not stopped South Africa becoming, along with Egypt, the snooker and pool powerhouse of the African continent.
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