Snooker Shoot-Out Draw Revealed

The draw has been revealed for the first round of the Sky Snooker Shoot-Out in Blackpool on the 28th-30th of January. The biggest draws include Ronnie O'Sullivan v Marco Fu and Mark Williams v John Higgins.

Ebdon v Davis, the World Champions battle it out!

The Shoot-Out will be the first new Snooker event that Sky Sports has broadcast in years, with them only showing the Premier League at the moment. The format will be one frame matches lasting 10 minutes with a 20 second shot clock for the first five minutes and a 15 second shot clock for the last five minutes, meaning the players will have to keep on their toes.

Just like the FA cup the draw was random and it features all the players ranked 1-64 so many players will be making their TV debut at the tournament. The juiciest ties included Ronnie O'Sullivan v Marco Fu, Mark Williams v John Higgins and quick-fire potter Tony Drago versus rising Chinese star Liang Wenbo. Other matches include the battle of the world champion's; Steve Davis v Peter Ebdon and World Champion Neil Robertson versus canary cueman Barry Pinches.

It will be interesting to see how players who have never been in the Premier League or at Power Snooker adjust to the shot clock, especially when it goes down to 15 seconds per shot. Obviously the event favours players like O'Sullivan, Selby, Williams, Drago etc but some of the younger players like to play fast, attacking Snooker also.

First Round Draw: