Snooker and billiards are incredibly similar sports, so much so that the crossover between the two is staggering. There have been more than a few noticeable snooker players who have transitioned over to billiards or vice versa, and the common notion of the two being interchangeable does have some element of truth.
However, there is not as much carryover between cue sports as you may first assume, and as you are going to find out in this article, it is not too easy for professionals to just swap over to another sport and dominate.
There Are a Few Examples
In spite of what you may think, the number of snooker players who transitioned to billiards is relatively small. It does happen now and again, but examples are few and far between.
Fortunately, there are a few well-known cases of snooker players transitioning to billiards. One of the most notable players who has successfully transitioned from snooker to billiards is Michael Ferreira.
Ferreira is a former World Snooker Championship quarter-finalist who also won the World Amateur Billiards Championship in 1975. He has also won several other major billiards titles, including the All-India Professional Billiards Championship and the Asian Billiards Championship.
Another player who has made the transition from snooker to billiards is Pankaj Advani. Advani is a multiple-time World Snooker Championship runner-up and has also won numerous billiards titles, including the IBSF World Billiards Championship and the Asian Billiards Championship.
Both of these players experienced excellent odds whenever they were featured in a game listed on sites like Comeon sportsbook, and for the most part, they have experienced huge success in both poker and billiards.
Switching From One To The Other Is Not As Easy As You Would Think
To answer the question of “can snooker players play pool?”; the answer is a simple yes. There is a lot of carryover from one sport to the other, and most professional snooker players can also play billiards/pool to a high level.
Despite this, the number of examples we can look at when it comes to snooker players who transitioned to pool is relatively few. Why is this? Well, it’s simple. Becoming a world-class sportsman requires a ton of specialisation.
Dedicated, specific training is the only way to become the best in a sport, and the fact that snooker players have not put the time into mastering billiards or vice versa means that they are not able to keep up with the top players. They just haven’t accumulated the necessary specialised experience to compete at the top level.
In conclusion, while it is not common for professional snooker players to also compete in billiards tournaments, there have been a few notable exceptions who have successfully made the transition. Michael Ferreira and Pankaj Advani are two examples of players who have had success in both sports, and these two sportsmen are evidence that the switch can be made.
Saying this, it is important to realise that making the switch from one cue sport to another is not as simple as you may think. While there is some carryover, a professional is not just going to be able to switch from their dominant sport and take over a sport that they are not as familiar with. It’s like saying all professional BMX riders would make exemplary Tour De France competitors.
