SNOOKER has become more than a game for Simon Crossley. He has turned it into an art form.

The 24-year-old Bishopthorpe man has created a series of portraits of the world's top 16 players and will be putting two sets of them on show at York's Barbican Centre during the Travis Perkins UK Snooker Championship starting on Monday.

Crossley recently got his degree in Art and Design at St John's College and arranged with the tournament organisers to stage his exhibition.

The idea came from his enthusiasm for snooker. As a teenager he was coached by professional Steve Prest at Harrogate's Manhattan Club and has had some of his portraits on display there.

"I don't play so much snooker these days, though I won a Plate competition at the Cueball Club in York," he said.

"The paintings are what you could call 'pop art' portraits.

"I use acrylic paint and am doing the portraits from photographs and with the help of computer images.

"It takes me about two hours to do each one but it takes me ages first to get the image right for painting."

He added: "Ronnie O'Sullivan's got to be my favourite player and when it comes to doing a portrait I think Jimmy White's probably the easiest face to produce."

Crossley's 16 paintings will be on show in the CueZone area in the lower gym at the Barbican.

They will all be for sale, though ten days before the start of the tournament he hadn't decided on what he will be asking for them.

Another set of the same 16 players will be on display in the players' lounge, so he is hoping the stars buy them from him.

Updated: 16:32 Wednesday, November 10, 2004