New Snooker Tips Materials

Snooker is the second biggest cue sport with 50 to 100 million regular players around the world. However, snooker technology is far behind many sports and is still very 'traditional'. We are the first to properly apply physics, engineering and materials science to the sport of snooker which will have a considerable impact on the equipment used.

The most important piece of technology in snooker is the cue, and the most important part of the cue is the tip. Most tips used by professionals and amateurs are mixtures of leather and resin. The use of leather is problematic as animal-derived products cause ethical issues for some players, and they are by their nature variable in quality and properties.

This project is to develop new, leather-free tips that will be both animal-product free, and provide much greater consistency. We will develop and test materials in the laboratory, and then have top professionals test promising candidates in real world situations.