I shot the Bensen Hedges world championships in Preston for a few years. I was allowed to have the interview rooms with a table set up before the BBC and got to shoot all the players doing every shot posed.
When shooting live you will need fast glass. Or a very fast zoom. We used Canon F4 400mm. Which last i looked was 4k. If you have not one of those lens I would hire for the time needed. Mags like the subject sharp and background way out of focus. So a minimum DoF.
This is who I used to work for..... Look at their snooker shots...
http://www.sportsphoto.co.uk/