ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW AS THE PLANET’S GREATEST SNOOKER STARS BATTLE IT OUT 16 407 22

The number of streakers at the 1997 Masters final. Secretary Lianne Crofts, below, then 22, invaded the match in which Steve Davis beat Ronnie “The Rocket” O’Sullivan. The number of players taking part in this year’s Masters, including the

No1 ranked Mark Selby,

35 and the reigning World Champion, Mark Williams, 43.

The number of balls on a snooker table at the start of a match. The black is worth the most points – seven. The table should measure just under 12ft by 6ft. The number of century breaks by reigning Masters champ Mark Allen from Northern Ireland who will take on Luca Brecel in the first round today. Allen, 32, who triumphed over Kyren Wilson in 2018, was once a budding footballer. He went for trials at both Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest. The year that snooker is believed to have been invented, by the British Army officer Sir Neville Chamberlain, below. POTS of cash are up for grabs as the world’s leading snooker stars vie to win the 2019 Dafabet Masters which kicks off today.

The Triple Crown tournament, taking place at London’s Alexandra Palace, is one of the game’s biggest events.

The winner is in line to scoop a cool £200,000.

Here cues up some top snooker facts. The year the first Masters took place, with just 10 players. It was won by John Spencer. The following year the victor was the competition’s oldest winner, Ray Reardon, at the age of 43.

A STAR Wars fan has carved an 8ft 7in sculpture of Chewbacca out of a tree trunk.Mick Booth, 42, has now put the artwork up for sale for £10,000.Mick, who made the piece from a fallen ash tree, said: “I would love for Chewbacca to find a good home where he will be appreciated.”The artist, from Bolsover, Derbys, added: “I’ve put so much heart, soul and the utmost care and affection into him.” JAMES MOORE

Years since snooker was transformed by the BBC’s Pot Black, a new TV show, below, that took advantage of the introduction of colour on the box.