Snooker Shoot Out 2024: Draw, results, playing rules, prize money, how to watch

With a top prize of £50,000, the four-day tournament in Leicester consists solely of unique one-frame matches against the clock (more on the playing rules below). It will be the tenth ranking event of the 2024/25 World Snooker Tour season.

First held in 2011 at the Circus Arena in Blackpool, the current iteration of the Snooker Shoot Out has been a permanent fixture on the professional circuit every season since. Having initially been a 64-player invitational, the event received ranking status and changed to a 128-player format in the 2016/17 season. For a potted history on the Snooker Shoot Out, please visit here.

Due to the very short format, no player has ever won this competition more than once. A variety of players from across the world rankings have claimed the title, with the winner of the last edition - Mark Allen - becoming the first top 16 player (at the time of the event) to lift the trophy.

Fans at the Snooker Shoot Out are encouraged to make more noise than they usually would at live snooker.

What is the format and tournament schedule for the 2024 Snooker Shoot Out?

The 2024 Snooker Shoot Out features 128 players competing in a straight knockout format.

All rounds are randomly drawn, FA Cup-style. There is no seeding protection, so the highest ranked players can draw each other at any point, so can the lower ranked players and amateurs.

There are afternoon and evening sessions on all four days of the competition.

• Wednesday 4th and Thursday 5th: Round one
• Friday 6th: Round two
• Saturday 7th (afternoon session): Round three
• Saturday 7th (evening session): Round four, quarter-finals, semi-finals, final

Who is playing in the 2024 Snooker Shoot Out?

All professional tour card carders on the World Snooker Tour are eligible to enter the Snooker Shoot Out, but several top 16 players have elected to skip it, meaning amateur players have been invited to fill the spaces.

Reigning champion Mark Allen is scheduled to defend his title and - as per tradition - he will help break off the tournament in the opening match when he faces Ross Muir on Wednesday afternoon.

Fellow top ranked stars such as Mark Selby - playing in his home city - Shaun Murphy, Zhang Anda, Ali Carter, Si Jiahui, Xiao Guodong and Jack Lisowski have also entered. At the last Snooker Shoot Out, Murphy memorably made a maximum 147 break, the first 147 in professional snooker history under shot-clock conditions.

Neil Robertson is set to play in the tournament for the first time since its inaugural staging in 2011.

Graeme Dott, Stuart Bingham and Jimmy White are scheduled for action, as too is current World Women’s Snooker Champion Bai Yulu.

As well as Allen, former Snooker Shoot Out winners Hossein Vafaei, Ryan Day, Anthony McGill, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Michael Holt and Chris Wakelin are all expected to be at the Mattioli Arena.

What are the playing rules for the Snooker Shoot Out?

There are several playing rules that are unique to the Snooker Shoot Out; it’s traditional matchplay snooker, but with a few big twists.

The biggest difference is that every match in the tournament is just one frame.

However, these frames can only last a maximum of ten minutes. If the frame has not been completed within this time, whoever is leading in points is declared the winner. This adds a very different tactical element, as players in front will often try to protect and nurse their lead as the time ticks downs.

As well as a match-clock, there is a shot-clock, too. Players have 15 seconds within the first five minutes of a match to play their shot, and only 10 seconds in the last five minutes. So long as the player has struck the cueball before the shot-clock runs out, this is a legal shot.

For every shot played, a ball (either the cueball or an object ball) must either touch a cushion or be potted. Unlike like pool, this can be before the cueball contacts an object ball.

All fouls result in cueball in hand, meaning the player coming to the table can place the white ball - which is spotted in this tournament - wherever they like to start their visit.

If both players are level on points when the match-clock expires, a blue-ball shoot out is used to determine the winner. This means placing the blue on its spot, and contestants playing from the D. Each player has one shot attempting to pot it in either corner pocket.

If one misses and the other pots, the match is over. If both miss or both pot, they go again until there is a winner.

2024 Snooker Shoot Out: Draw, order of play and results

What is the prize money for the 2024 Snooker Shoot Out? How much does the winner get?

There is a total prize fund of over £170,000 on offer at the 2024 Snooker Shoot Out with £50,000 going to the champion.

All competitors receive prize money, although first round losers will not receive these in ranking points.

• Champion: £50,000
• Runner-up: £20,000
• Semi-final losers: £8,000
• Quarter-final losers: £4,000
• Last 16 losers: £2,000
• Last 32 losers: £1,000
• Last 64 losers: £500
• Last 128 losers: £250
• Highest break: £5,000
• Total prize fund: £171,000

How can I watch the 2024 Snooker Shoot Out? Television and broadcast details:

• UK, Ireland and the rest of Europe: Eurosport, discovery+
• China: Huya.com, CBSA-WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel, CBSA-WPBSA Academy Douyin
• Hong Kong China: Now TV
• Malaysia and Brunei: Astro
• Philippines: Tap
• Taiwan: Sportcast
• Thailand: True Sport
• All other territories: matchroom.live