Crucible Cup Snooker: Top professionals to star in fast-paced action on Pluto TV; draw and info here

The new event - which carries a prize fund of over £70,000 - takes place across November 24 & 25 at the Crucible Sports and Social Club in Reading and will be shown live on the Pluto TV platform for free.

With UK Championship qualifying going on in Wigan, several of the sport’s top stars were left with space in their diaries, making them available and eligible to play in this televised event away from the official World Snooker Tour professional circuit.

Seven of the world's current top 15 ranked players are set to feature: Neil Robertson, Mark Williams, John Higgins, Mark Selby, Xiao Guodong, Barry Hawkins and Gary Wilson, meanwhile seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry makes a shock return to competitive action having been revealed as the mystery eighth contestant.

What are Snooker 900 rules and what is the format for the Crucible Cup?

The Crucible Cup will be played to Snooker 900 rules. This is traditional matchplay snooker, but with a few important twists.

Frames can last no longer than 15 minutes - 900 seconds, hence the name. Should the frame not be completed after the 15 minutes expire, whoever is leading the frame in points at the end wins the frame - just like what we see at the Snooker Shoot Out. On top of this, there is a 20-second shot-clock throughout the frame, with no extensions.

On every shot, the cueball must either make contact with a cushion, or a ball be potted, otherwise this is a foul shot.

All fouls in Snooker 900 result in cueball in hand to the incoming player, meaning they can place the white - which is spotted - wherever they wish on the table for their first shot.

A straight knockout format is used for the Crucible Cup with the quarter-finals and semi-finals being the best of 11 frames, and the final being the best of 13.

The draw and match schedule for the Crucible Cup

Following a brief return to the professional ranks earlier this decade and a stint on the World Seniors Snooker Tour, Hendry returns to meaningful action after a short absence but faces a huge task up against world number three Neil Robertson who recently appeared in the final of the Riyadh Season Championship.

Having just missed the qualification cut for Riyadh, the last time we saw Mark Selby on the baize was when he was winning the Champion of Champions title on home soil in Leicester.

With his successful 8-ball pool background, Selby may be best equipped out of all the entrants to deal with the time restraints of this unique event. Both he and opponent Xiao Guodong have made the final of the Snooker Shoot Out before - Xiao has done so twice.

A finalist at the last ranking event on the professional tour, the International Championship, Higgins has put his name into the mix. However, his opponent Barry Hawkins is the only player in this line-up who has won the Shoot Out title.

At the bottom of the draw is the seemingly unflappable Williams - another Shoot Out finalist - who plays Wilson.

The draw has been seeded, based on the world rankings with Robertson being the number one seed, Williams number two, etc.

Monday 24th November

• Afternoon session from 13:00GMT: Higgins v Hawkins, followed by Robertson v Hendry
• Evening session from 19:00GMT: Selby v Xiao, followed by Williams v Wilson

Tuesday 25th November

• Afternoon session from 13:00GMT: Semi-finals
• Evening session from 19:00GMT: Final

What is Pluto TV Snooker 900 and how to watch the Crucible Cup

Pluto TV Snooker 900 is a dedicated 24/7 snooker channel that launched a few weeks ago with former world number ten Tony Drago winning the curtain-raising ‘Legends League’ ahead of John Parrott, Joe Johnson and Tony Knowles.

Since then, a plethora of the world’s top amateur players have taken to the 900 stage in Reading; Rory McLeod won the first weekly ‘Amateur League’ title, and earlier this month Hammad Miah became the first cueist to complete the weekly double of winning both the league competition and the Wednesday night knockout.

Last week, former world champion Stuart Bingham claimed the first professionals league event on the platform, and Ronnie Sullivan (yes, you read that correctly) won the first junior competition.

Seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has thrown his support behind the channel, providing regular updates on his social media platforms with predictions and opinions on the events.

‘The Rocket’ has stated his intention of playing Snooker 900 in 2026.

All the action from the Crucible Cup can be viewed on Pluto TV Snooker 900. The channel can be downloaded for free onto a smart TV and mobile device in multiple countries.