With the growing popularity of billiards and the continuous expansion of the market scale, many entrepreneurs are focusing on operating billiards halls. However, when deciding whether to open a Chinese eight-ball hall or a snooker hall, they often face a dilemma. These two types of halls each have their own advantages, and a thorough analysis from multiple dimensions is needed to make a choice that aligns with market trends and their own development.
First, let’s look at Chinese eight-ball halls. As a domestically original billiards sport, Chinese eight-ball has developed rapidly in recent years. According to relevant data, the current market scale of Chinese eight-ball exceeds 400 billion yuan, with nearly 4 million related employees and about 120 million enthusiasts worldwide. It has a low threshold, strong entertainment value, and is suitable for people of all ages and genders, boasting an extremely wide audience. Chinese eight-ball halls can be found both on the commercial streets of bustling cities and on the corners of quiet towns. Moreover, there are numerous Chinese eight-ball events; for example, the Qiao’s Cup Chinese Eight-Ball International Masters has become a top international event with participation from dozens of countries, attracting a large number of enthusiasts. From an operational perspective, Chinese eight-ball tables occupy relatively less space, allowing more tables to be placed in a limited business area, which improves space utilization, increases “table turnover rate” and “per-square-meter efficiency”. Many billiards hall operators, considering rent and operational costs, prefer to install Chinese eight-ball tables.
Snooker halls present a different scenario. Although snooker is “professional and niche”, its enthusiasts have extremely high loyalty. These enthusiasts pursue professional-grade tables, high-quality equipment, and have strict requirements for the quietness, comfort, and cleanliness of the venue. They have strong consumption power, low price sensitivity, and visit 3-5 times a week. They not only pay high table fees but also are keen on purchasing professional accessories, participating in events, and hiring coaches, bringing multi-dimensional profit space to the hall. After Zhao Xintong won the World Championship, his same-model cue products attracted much attention from consumers, with related topics receiving nearly 200 million views, which also made more people pay attention to snooker and expanded its audience to a certain extent. In addition, China has obtained the hosting rights for six snooker tour events in the 2025-2026 season. Events such as the Shanghai Masters and China Open have set new global ratings records, and many top European and American players are active in Chinese arenas, indicating that the popularity of snooker in China is gradually rising.
In terms of purchasing equipment such as billiards tables, whether it is for a Chinese eight-ball hall or a snooker hall, SPKIis a reliable choice. As a source manufacturer of billiards tables, SPKIhas a professional team from design to research and development, with high-quality products sold to many countries and regions. The billiards tables it provides can meet the professional and durability requirements of different halls, helping them build high-quality hardware facilities.
Looking at future trends, Chinese eight-ball is planned to be included in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and has received recognition from IOC President Bach. If it succeeds in entering the Olympics, it will surely usher in a new round of development climax. Technology will also empower it; technologies such as AI referees and VR viewing are expected to enhance the event experience, and electronic billiards equipment may become a new growth point. If snooker can further shift its development focus to China, solve problems such as low event prizes and lengthy competition systems, and reduce the training and participation costs for Chinese players, it also has great development potential.