Why are so many people playing billiards these days?

In May 2025, China’s Zhao Xintong became the first Asian player to win the World Snooker Championships, defeating three-time champion Mark Williams 18:12 in the tournament. This historic moment not only put China’s billiards on top of the world, but also set off an unprecedented “billiards fever” in China. On the night of the championship, many billiard halls across the country were full, and there was even the phenomenon of “three days in advance to reserve a table”.

Billiards has become an outlet for emotions
The fast pace and high intensity competition of contemporary society have plunged young people into the plight of “emotional overload”. The resurgence of billiards fits the demand for “lightweight socialization”. Compared with traditional sports, billiards has the advantage of low threshold and low pressure. It does not require professional physical training, and can be played in a single game of 5-10 minutes, which is suitable for fragmented time. Chatting and tactical discussions between shots make billiards a natural scenario for friends’ gatherings and business negotiations. The moment of focusing on aiming and hitting the ball can also allow people to temporarily detach themselves from the pressure of reality and gain the “mind flow experience” described in psychology. A white-collar worker in Zhengzhou shared, “Playing billiards for two hours after work is a better way to relieve anxiety than swiping your cell phone.” Data shows that in 2024, 40.6% of self-service billiard hall consumers will patronize the hall 3-4 times a week, and more than half of the users believe that billiards is the “most cost-effective way to relieve stress”. This “low-cost cure” feature makes billiards stand out against the backdrop of the decline of traditional entertainment such as KTVs and escape rooms, and become the secret weapon of urbanites to balance their lives.
From Noble Sport to Civilian Carnival

The history of billiards can be traced back to the 15th century when it was played by European aristocrats, but it is the localized “Chinese billiards” that has really taken root in China. Simplified rules, faster pace, and user-friendly equipment have quickly made the game a national sport in the streets and alleys. The diversity of rules is the key to attracting different people to billiards. Snooker emphasizes precision and strategy, attracting hard-core technicians; American 8-ball is fast-paced and suitable for novices to gain a sense of accomplishment; Chinese black eight is a blend of local gameplay and has become the mainstream of folk tournaments. In recent years, the upgrading of the billiards industry has given it a new lease of life. Under the trend of equipment intelligence, AI coaching system can analyze the angle of the ball in real time, VR technology to restore the scene of the tournament; traditional ballroom transformation “billiards + light food + live” complex, per capita consumption increased to 150 yuan; Chinese billiards international masters tournament championship prize money as high as 5 million yuan, far more than the Snooker World Championships.
The 23 years of production experience of Spike pool table manufacturers, sold at home and abroad to serve tens of thousands of ball rooms, forming a complete industrial chain, and has won the praise of customers.

Third, the self-service ball room of the “blow to the dimensions”
If Zhao Xintong’s win is the spark of billiards fever, then the popularity of “unmanned self-service ball room” is the fuel that continues to heat up. This type of ball room to lightweight, intelligent, low-cost subversion of the traditional model. 24-hour business, sweeping code to open the table, face recognition, cell phone temperature control and other technologies, to accurately meet the needs of the “night owls”; 100-200 square meters to accommodate the design of 4-8 tables, the cost of a single unit compressed to 150,000 yuan, to achieve the ultimate ping effect; the whole process without the intervention of the clerk mode, is the best way to achieve the goal. The whole process without the intervention of shopkeepers provides young people with a private space that is friendly to social terrorism.

Spike has followed the trend of independent research and development of unmanned self-service system, the average monthly payback cycle is only 6-8 months. The full 0 franchise fee 0 drawback, more suitable for novice owners to open the ball room. On the contrary, the traditional ball room, the initial investment of more than 800,000 yuan, payback takes 2-3 years. This “low-burden entrepreneurship” mode attracts a large number of investors to enter, in 2024 China added more than 130,000 new billiard enterprises, a year-on-year growth of 28.57%.
The renaissance of billiards is not a coincidence, but a precise step on the pulse of the times. It is both a haven for individuals to fight pressure, a connector for social fission, and a model for the fusion of traditional sports and modern business. When Zhao Xintong lifted the trophy at the Klössberg Theater, he ignited not only the enthusiasm of the people of China, but also a signal of the evolution of the industry – in the return of the essence of “simple, healthy and affordable”, billiards is writing a new chapter of its own.