Snooker Loopy
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The Silent Shootout
By Elliott West
Introduction
Tomorrow marks another airing of the tournament that fuses the basics of snooker with the razzmatazz atmosphere of a pool or darts tournament. However this year, gone has the Watford venue and the berating crowd, including the yellow chant, will fall silent due to pandemic restrictions. A tournament that has had Nigel Bond, Dominic Dale, Michael Georgiou, Barry Hawkins, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh as past victors with Michael Holt winning this event last year.
Crazed and Dazed
Based around the concept of Pot Black, the tournament was born out of the void left by its decommissioning in 2007. Originally held in 1990 and named Shoot-Out, the tournament was brought back in its present form in 2011. Many at first, within and outside the sport treated it as a gimmick and especially when it became a ranking event in 2017.
However as the tournament has matured, so hearts have warmed towards this strange affair. This competition has several crucial merits. It is open to all 128 players on the tour, factors in players from the ladies’ tour, this year, Reanne Evans and Rebecca Kenna and provides a fast flowing pace that proves always impossible to pick a winner.
This is play that gets the blood pumping and the heart racing, pitching both players against a shot clock and can often be decided on the last ball potted. Some players use the clock to close down the frame but others crash out and have to make the long journey home after what seems a split second at the table.
Some struggle to adapt to the playing conditions, put off by the speed of the super-fine cloth, bright television lights and the television cameras pointing at them. However by overcoming these obstacles, the the winner of a match, can temporarily relax and build themselves up for the next frenzy of activity. The venue may have changed and the seating plan removed but beyond the silence of the arena, remains the chemical formula that ignites on being lit.
The tournament is unique because all matches are based on a single frame over a ten minute duration and made more exciting by having a random draw for the players. The shot clock provides the nervous fervour that causes a beaded brow and butterflies to form in the stomach as the clock allows only fifteen seconds per shot in the first five minutes and ten seconds per shot in the last five minutes with possible penalties. A tie in a frame is decided on the blue ball.
This competition has produced 21 centuries in its history and a highest break of 139, produced by Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. Part of the BetVictor European Series, the winner will receive a cheque for £50,000 and the winner of the Order of Merit across the six events, will win a £150,000 bonus. The winner will also be instantly entered into the Champion of Champions event. The whole tournament will be televised on Eurosport.
Summary
The Snooker Shootout is not everyone’s cup of tea but it provides a forum for lower ranked players to succeed and players from the women’s tour to take part. Anyone could win and it often produces a surprise victor. Perhaps this is the tonic we need to provide some much need relief in these testing times.
Zhou Yuelong and Michael Holt pictured at the 2020 Snooker Shootout final
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