Snooker’s Coming Home
Almost 15 years after professional snooker was last played in Blackpool, the Shoot-Out takes green-baize action back to the coastal town famed for its Tower, Illuminations and of course Rock.
From 1992 through 1997, hundreds of snooker hopefuls battled it out in the cavernous Norcalympia Hall at the town’s Norbreck Castle for the right to face the game’s ‘royalty’ at the final stages of each of the major events.
It will be a nostalgic return for the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins who were all products of the Blackpool’s qualifying school.
Although criticised at the time by some for being too long and costly to stay weeks on end, the period was certainly the most productive in terms of quality of players coming through.
From early June through to mid-September, the ‘Norbreck’ became a huge snooker factory with its conveyor belt of matches running morning, noon and night.
O’Sullivan remained undefeated in his first 38 matches, a record that still stands almost twenty years on. And even after Sean Storey had ended his run, he went on to win another load before tasting defeat again.
Stephen Lee also set a record which has yet to be improved upon, for the most frames won in succession (33).
The Shoot-Out is a new addition to the tournament calendar and will be played over three days with 64 players taking part in the one-frame knock out event, but this is not the first time that a single-frame format has been used.
Pot Black was first screened in 1969 and is credited with starting the snooker revolution during the 1970s thanks in no small part to the invention of colour television.
In 1990, the first ever One-Frame Shoot Out was held at Trentham Gardens and was won by Wales’ Darren Morgan who beat Mike Hallet in the final, ironically by two-frames-to-one.
Barry Hearn’s adapted version is allegedly going to include glamorous girls escorting winner’s from the table and a grim-reaper character removing the losers.
There will be a shot clock starting at 20 seconds, reducing to 15 seconds midway through the frame. There is also a 12-minute frame limit which combined with the shot-clock means the format puts more emphasis on speed rather than accuracy!
The action breaks off at the Circus Arena from January 28, but will it be snooker’s “Greatest Show On Earth”?
