Wikipedia

2023 Snooker Shoot Out (2023–24 season)

The 2023 Snooker Shoot Out (officially the 2023 BetVictor Snooker Shoot Out) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 6 to 9 December 2023 at the Swansea Arena in Swansea, South Wales. Played under a variation of the standard rules of snooker, with every match contested over a single frame, the tournament was the ninth ranking event of the 2023–24 snooker season and the fifth of eight events in the 2024 European Series. Sponsored by BetVictor, the event was broadcast by Eurosport and Discovery+ in Europe.[1]

2023 BetVictor Snooker Shoot Out
Tournament information
Dates6–9 December 2023 (2023-12-06 – 2023-12-09)
VenueSwansea Arena
CitySwansea
CountryWales
OrganisationWorld Snooker Tour
FormatRanking event
Total prize fund£171,000
Winner's share£50,000
Highest break Shaun Murphy (ENG) (147)
Final
Champion Mark Allen (NIR)
Runner-up Cao Yupeng (CHN)
Score65–4 (one frame)

Chris Wakelin was the defending champion, having defeated Julien Leclercq 119‍–‍0 in the previous final,[2] but he lost 44‍–‍46 in the second round to Joe O'Connor. Shaun Liu, who had turned 13 in July 2023, defeated Ishpreet Singh Chadha 57‍–‍52 and became the youngest winner of a televised match in a ranking event.[3] In the first round match against Bulcsú Révész, Shaun Murphy made his eighth career maximum break, the first ever compiled at the Shoot Out.[4]

In the final of the event, world number four Mark Allen defeated Cao Yupeng 65‍–‍4 to capture his tenth ranking title. He became the first player in the history of the event to win the title while ranked within the world's top 16.[5] "It's just so hard," Allen said after the match, "the easiest of shots turns into the most difficult and you feel more pressure here in a 10‍–‍minute frame than you would do in the final frame of a big ranking tournament final at 9‍–‍9 or something. It just does crazy things to your brain."[6]

Tournament format edit

The tournament was played using a variation of the traditional snooker rules. The draw was randomised before each round. All matches were played over a single frame, each of which lasts up to 10 minutes. The event featured a variable shot clock; shots played in the first five minutes are allowed 15 seconds while the final five has a 10-second timer. All foul shots award the opponent a ball in hand. Unlike traditional snooker, if a ball does not hit a cushion on every shot, it is a foul. Rather than a coin toss, a lag is used to choose which player breaks. In the event of a draw, each player receives a shot at the blue ball. This is known as a "blue ball shootout". The player who pots the ball with the cue ball from inside the "D" and the blue ball on its spot with the opponent missing wins the match.[7]: 42–46 

Broadcasters edit

The event was broadcast by Eurosport and Discovery+ in Europe (including the UK and Ireland); Migu [zh], Youku, and Huya in Mainland China; Now TV in Hong Kong; Astro SuperSport in Malaysia and Brunei; TrueVisions in Thailand; Sportcast in Taiwan; Premier Sports Network in the Philippines; Fastsports in Pakistan; and Matchroom.live in all other territories.[8]

Prize fund edit

The total prize fund for the event is £171,000 with the winner receiving £50,000. The breakdown of prize money is shown below:[1][9]

  • Winner: £50,000
  • Runner-up: £20,000
  • Semi-final: £8,000
  • Quarter-final: £4,000
  • Last 16: £2,000
  • Last 32: £1,000
  • Last 64: £500
  • Last 128: £250[a]
  • Highest break: £5,000
  • Total: £171,000

Tournament draw edit

All times in Greenwich Mean Time. Times for quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are approximate. Players in bold denote match winners.[10][11][12][13] The draw is listed in the order of play.[14]

Round 1 edit

6 December – 13:00 edit

6 December – 19:00 edit

7 December – 13:00 edit

7 December – 19:00 edit

Round 2 edit

8 December – 13:00 edit

8 December – 19:00 edit

Round 3 edit

9 December – 13:00 edit

Round 4 edit

9 December – 19:00 edit

Quarter-finals edit

9 December – 21:00 edit

Semi-finals edit

9 December – 22:00 edit

Final edit

Final: 1 frame. Referee: Alex Crișan
Swansea Arena, Swansea, Wales, 9 December 2023 – 22:30[6]
Cao Yupeng
  China 		4–65 Mark Allen
  Northern Ireland

Century breaks edit

A total of 2 century breaks were made during the tournament.[13]

Notes edit

  1. ^ The prize money for losing in the first round did not count towards the world rankings.
  2. ^ 13-year-old Shaun Liu became the youngest player to win a match in a televised ranking event.[3]
  3. ^ Sam Craigie withdrew and was replaced by Florian Nüßle.[10]
  4. ^ Hossein Vafaei withdrew and was replaced by Jamie O'Neill.[10]
  5. ^ Martin Gould withdrew and was replaced by Alex Taubman.[10]
  6. ^ Shaun Murphy made the first ever Shoot Out maximum break in his first round match against Bulcsú Révész.[4]
  7. ^ Si Jiahui beat Kyren Wilson in a sudden death blue ball shootout after the match frame finished level at 48–48. Si potted the blue five times to Wilson's four.[10]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "BetVictor Shoot Out". World Snooker Tour. Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Wakelin wins maiden title in style". World Snooker Tour. 28 January 2023. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Shaun Liu, 13, sets new record as youngest winner". World Snooker Tour. 6 December 2023. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Murphy scores first ever Shoot Out 147". World Snooker Tour. 7 December 2023. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Allen wins tenth ranking title with Shoot Out success". World Snooker Tour. 9 December 2023. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Mark Allen: Northern Irishman becomes first top-16 player to win Shoot Out". BBC Sport. 10 December 2023. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Official Rules" (PDF). WPBSA. 31 May 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  8. ^ "How to watch the BetVictor Shoot Out". World Snooker Tour. 5 December 2023. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  9. ^ Potts, Michael (6 December 2023). "Snooker Shoot Out on TV 2023: Channel, schedule and live stream". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e "BetVictor Shoot Out (2023)". snooker.org. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  11. ^ "BetVictor Shoot Out Draw". World Snooker Tour. 17 November 2023. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  12. ^ "BetVictor Shoot Out 2023" (PDF). World Snooker Tour. 17 November 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  13. ^ a b "World Snooker – Live Scores". World Snooker Tour. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  14. ^ "BetVictor Shoot Out 2023/24 Provisional Format of Play" (PDF). World Snooker Tour. 17 November 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.

External links edit

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