Snooker has been on our minds a lot lately. Yet, it is about time to go back to good old 8ball, or at least introduce you to the rap artist who is named after the popular pool game.

Along with MJG, 8ball is renowned as one of the ancestors of Southern rap, (a sub-genre of hiphop characterized by its heavy-bass grooves and hard-partying lyrics). Started out in the early 90s in Memphis, Tennessee, and reached the Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart in 2004 with You Don’t Want Drama, from Living Legends, their first album on Big Boy Records.

8ball & MJG second album on Big Boy Records, 2007 Ridin’ High had a restrainer commercial success. Most recently the due has announced its departure from their former record label to Grand Hustle Records. At the same time, 8ball worked on independent projects separated from his partner, including forming his own label named 8 Ways Entertainment, which released several Southern rap compilations.

The spot put on 4 Chinese snooker players on the last World Championship illuminates the uncommonness of the presence of non-British players at the sports’ most significant event. Seriously, over the last 30 years most of the World Snooker Championship emerged of the British Isles. So, who is to blame? The governing body’s poor global promoting efforts? The United Kingdom’s pride in its snooker heroes? Or is it the weather? 

"Calling the championships at the Crucible the World Championships is a joke considering only about six countries are represented in the top 50 of the World rankings. It’s like America calling their baseball final the World Series." 

Says a snooker fan nicknamed Foliage at the BBC’s comments page, and suggests a conspiracy theory according to which the (UK based) snooker authorities who are afraid to lose the country’s dominance on the game’s talents are making zero efforts to promote snooker abroad.

One of the commenters suggested something else:

"You do need to look at climate to see why more players come from cold wet countries. Scotland is not renown for it’s tropical sunny temperatures, so when the likes of Hendry and Higgins wanted to kill some time they went indoors to the snooker room. In Brazil you go out and kick a ball round." 

In other words, blame the English rain.

Liu Chang was awarded a wildcard entry throughout the 2008-9 snooker season. This award guarantees that you’ll continue to hear about the young Chinese snooker player and his deeds during the next major snooker events. Chang, who had just turned 18, is the fourth player in the history of the game who made it to the World Championship at the infant age of 17. Chang was defeated by Ronnie O’sullivan, another member of the prestigious quartet, on the first round at the Crucible, yet his achievements were impressive enough to award him a wildcard entry. Liu Chang is then the fifth Chinese player to join the next international snooker season and to strengthen the Chinese snooker dominance. 

In the meantime, Ronnie O’sullivan has been penalized for his China Open misbehavior. The 3rd time World Snooker Champion is required to forfeit his prize money (£2,750) and pay another £1,000 fine. In addition, The Rocket is being punished with a loss of 700 ranking points. Nevertheless, these 700 points do not send him away from the top.

Two snooker news items from the last few days caught my attention to the fact that snooker is growing bigger in East Asia. Maybe not as popular as in the domains of the United Kingdom, yet much more popular than in the States or Continental Europe. And since the English people adore sports betting almost as much as they adore snooker, you can by now put your money on the next World Championship that will be taken by a Chinese player.   

On the same topic, the first snooker news item was about Chinese snooker player Ding Junhui, who was chosen to carry the Olympic torch to its last stop, Huangshan city in Anhui. Starting at the foot of East Hill in Jixi County, Ding’s journey opened the last day of the 4.4 km march. At the same opportunity, Ding, one of the most admired sports people in China, expressed his wishes that snooker will be recognized as an Olympic sport. 

The second item, mentions the growing interest the snooker game in the Kashmir Valley, especially by teenagers. Kashmiri youth new craze is warmly accepted even by their parents for two reasons. First, they’d rather them concentrating on playing snooker correctly then getting involved in the troubles that reckless teenagers usually get into, mainly since the game has a soothing effect on its players. Secondly, the scene of youngsters playing snooker in local clubs marks the return of more peaceful times.