After the thrill of The Masters last week we are back down to earth with something different in the snooker world from Thursday as 128 players head to Leicester for the Snooker Shootout, the frantic one frame knockout competition.
This tournament has its detractors and it isn’t for everyone but it was certainly for Ryan Day last year when he edged out Mark Selby in the final to revive his career with the title and the prize fund which got him into a number of other events during 2021.
Recent Winners
2021 – Ryan Day
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
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
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh is a former winner of this tournament and I don’t think that is a surprise to anyone because he is one of the fastest and most fluent cueists on the circuit. In an ideal world he would be in better form but I don’t think form counts for a great deal in this tournament as we have seen by the number of players who have revived their career in this event. Class doesn’t count for much either as we’re still waiting for our first winner from the top 16 of the world rankings. Thepchaiya can get in from distance and when he’s in he can score quickly. That is a help if he does drop behind in a frame and at 28/1 he’s an obvious bet.
Another obvious bet is Martin Gould who has also been the course and distance in this tournament. Again that is no surprise because he is another fluent cueist who usually sees the shot quickly. He scores quickly and can get himself in from distance. He has shown throughout the course of time that he is comfortable in these conditions and that is certainly one of the boxes that needs to be ticked here because it is completely different. Gould warmed up with a spin in the Championship league earlier in the week so his arm is nicely oiled and I expect a decent run from him again this week.
Outsiders
I’ll go with another couple of fluent cueists as outsiders with the first of those being Robert Milkins. It is actually a surprise that Milkins has never won this tournament because he’s certainly good enough to have landed this. He sees the shot very quickly and when he gets in he can be a heavy scorer which makes life so much easier here. He is pretty cool under pressure as well which can be significant because this tournament can quickly lead to chaos. His form hasn’t been great this season which is probably why he is 100/1 to win the event but as I have said form is probably the last thing you need to worry about. Milkins ticks enough boxes to be part of the team this week.
Lastly I’ll take a chance that Jackson Page has a good weekend. He is part of the ‘stable’ that Mark Williams is in and the youngster should take a lot of inspiration from what the Welsh legend did at The Masters last week. Those two will have practiced together plenty of times so the calmness of Williams as well as the quality will and you would imagine it is only a matter of time before the youngster makes a major breakthrough. This might be a more important week for him from a rankings point of view than some others and as someone who is naturally swift and can score when he’s in Page ticks a lot of boxes to go well here.
Tips
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 M.Gould to win Snooker Shootout (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with BetVictor (1/4 1-4)
Back R.Milkins to win Snooker Shootout (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with BetVictor (1/4 1-4)
Back J.Page to win Snooker Shootout (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with BetVictor (1/4 1-4)
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