Snooker goes back to being fast and furious this week when the Snooker Shootout is played out over four days of what is usually frantic action with shot clocks and quirky rules all making for a pretty good watch with 128 players looking for the trophy and the £50,000 that goes with it.
Michael Holt maximised his earnings 12 months ago and he’ll attempt to be the first man to not only defend the crown successfully but to win the tournament twice. He’ll defend under very different conditions inside the Marshall Arena where Covid-19 has put paid to any crowds being in attendance.
Recent Winners
2020 – Michael Holt
2019 – Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
2018 – Michael Georgiou
2017 – Anthony McGill
2016 – Robin Hull
2015 – Michael White
2014 – Dominic Dale
2013 – Martin Gould
2012 – Barry Hawkins
2011 – Nigel Bond
The Rules
It is snooker but not quite as we know it this week. Each match is 10 minutes long with the first five minutes having a 15 second shot close which reduces to 10 seconds for the final five minutes. With every shot a ball must be potted or hit a cushion or else a foul will be called. All fouls in this tournament result in the other player having cue ball in hand. Players lag to see who breaks and whoever is ahead after the 10 minutes wins the match. If the scores are tied after 10 minutes a blue ball shootout decides the winner. There is a random draw for each round.
The Format
The one thing which is pretty easy to follow and assess this week is the format. Every match is one frame, or 10 minutes, whichever ends first. The 128 players in the field have been drawn out already with the winner taking £500 to their ranking. Each match a player wins their prize money doubles until the final where the champion will land £50,000 on Sunday evening. That is £50k for no more than 70 minutes work!
Profile
There are a number of different profiles who have won this tournament. You have the slower, under the radar players like Nigel Bond to the man who is the quickest player on the tour in Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. It is important to understand that the timings got quicker in 2016 so that probably takes out the men who don’t see the shot immediately, or puts them at a significant disadvantage at the very least.
Ultimately, however you approach betting on the outright market in this tournament you need a lot of luck. Luck with the draw and luck in each frame however there are a few factors I like to use to whittle down the first. I like players who cue smoothly and swiftly. This isn’t an event for the slower players. I also like players who can get in from distance and put 30 or 40 on the board from there. The other thing which is a must is we need a player who will take it as seriously as possible. There’s nothing worse than sticking our hard earned down on someone who’s had a few amber nectars too many and we’re done from the break off, although Covid restrictions might take away that problem!
Main Bets
I’ll go with three main bets this season with the first of them being on a former winner in Barry Hawkins. Hawkins will definitely be taking this seriously, or he should be, because he is involved in a right logjam for a spot at the Crucible by right later in the season. If he can land the £50k here he would as good as book his place there which is a massive incentive for him. Hawkins arrives in decent form having made the German Masters semi-final and while losing from 5-1 up is a concern he ran into a rampant Trump who then demolished Jack Lisowski in the final. Hawkins sits fifth in the 50 breaks per frame average this season which I think is significant. If you score well in this you generally go deep, especially if you have the ability to get in from distance that Hawkins has. Hawkins has a bit of street craft in this event too and at 25/1 I think he’s a perfectly acceptable price this week.
If a player was made for this tournament then it was definitely Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and it is therefore no surprise that he won this event two years ago. He’s defending the money from that event so he needs to go well here. Un-Nooh is the fastest player on the tour so the shot clock is never going to come into play with him. The other thing he is is an excellent scorer and he can pot from distance. There is nobody in this field that holds a torch to him on form when he is bang on it with these rules in play. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see the Thai star go deep in this tournament again. It should be his to own really.
Tom Ford made the semi-finals for me in the German Masters last week with a barrage of scoring and I am hoping he has kept his scoring boots here because he is my last main bet. Ford has gone well in this tournament in the past and that is no surprise. He’s a pretty fluent player and an excellent scorer and he is clearly in decent nick right now as well. We’ve seen ‘journeymen’ win this event in the last few years and Ford is definitely good enough to add his name to that list. If he can avoid any tactical errors then Ford has the scoring game to be right in the mix here.
Outsiders
When Robert Milkins was beaten in the final of this tournament in the first year of its existence nobody was that surprised because it is perfect for him. He is as fluent as anyone on the tour and is capable of getting in from distance and getting stuck in scoring wise from there. The only surprise really is that he has never won the event before but that could change this year. He has had enough decent results to suggest that he is hitting the ball well this season and if he too can avoid any serious tactical errors there is no reason why he can’t make his way through this draw.
The next outsider for me is the Chinese youngster Pang Junxu, who has made a big impression this season. He has wins over Stephen Maguire, Barry Hawkins, Tom Ford and Mark Allen to his name this season and is in the top third of the 50 break scoring charts for the campaign which is a credit to him. This is his debut in this tournament which is a bit of a negative but the absence of the crowd might make that better for him. Clearly the Chinese talent can play and if he can get into the tournament he might continue to surprise.
Given that Steven Hallworth has done relatively little in the game to date, the fact he has a L16 and a QF in this tournament in the past tells me there is something about this tournament that brings the best out of him. His victims in this tournament include former champion Michael White, Tom Ford and Gary Wilson so he hasn’t exactly dodged bullets in the draws in those runs either. He sits at 50 in the 50 breaks on the tour this season and when you factor in a lot of the big names above him aren’t here, and the fact he hasn’t had as many matches as some, that suggests he is scoring nicely when he gets in. He clearly knows how to play this quirky format so at a monster price I’ll pay and see how he gets on this year.
Tips
Back B.Hawkins to win Snooker Shootout (e/w) for 1/10 stake at 26.00 with William Hill (1/4 1-4)
Back R.Milkins to win Snooker Shootout (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 81.00 with William Hill (1/4 1-4)
Back S.Hallworth to win Snooker Shootout (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 201.00 with William Hill (1/4 1-4)
Back them here:
Back T.Un-Nooh to win Snooker Shootout (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 29.00 with BetVictor (1/4 1-4)
Back him here:
Back T.Ford to win Snooker Shootout (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 41.00 with Betfair (1/4 1-4)
Back him here:
Back P.Junxu to win Snooker Shootout (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 201.00 with Betway (1/4 1-4)
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