Snooker Shoot Out: How it works, rules, who is playing, prize money, do players like it?

The Snooker Shoot Out 2018 begins on Thursday February 8.

Yet despite it hosting quick-fire frames this tournament will not be over until Sunday.

The Snooker Shoot Out is one of the stranger tournaments on the World Snooker tour.

It controversially became a ranking tournament in 2017, where Scotland’s Anthony McGill won the title ahead of China’s Xiao Guodong.

But how does the Snooker Shoot Out work? Here’s everything you need to know about the tournament.

What is the Snooker Shoot Out?

The Snooker Shoot Out is a rapid-fire tournament based on speed from players.

Each match of this knockout tournament consists of just one frame, which lasts 10 minutes.

Players have 15 seconds to take a shot during the first half of the match, and then only 10 seconds for the second half.

The player with the highest score at the 10-minute mark - or whoever wins the match before then - progresses.

There are 128 players in the tournament.

Where is the Snooker Shoot Out 2018?

The 2018 version of the Snooker Shoot Out takes place in Watford.

It was also hosted there last year, with Reading, Blackpool and Stoke having all previously staged versions of the tournament.

Snooker Shoot Out prize money

The total prize fund for the 2018 Snooker Shoot Out is £146,000.

The winner’s share is £32,000 - not bad for seven frames of snooker.

Players who crash out at the first hurdle will earn £250.

The runner-up banks £16,000.

Who will win the Snooker Shoot Out?

This really is a lottery.

Anthony McGill won only his second ranking title when winning last year.

McGill is first up against England’s Mark Davis.

Mark Allen, Mark Williams and Stuart Bingham are all 20/1 favourite to win the Snooker Shoot Out 2018.

Allen was a defeated finalist in this event in 2013, while Bingham was runner up a year later.

Snooker Shoot Out controversy

The Snooker Shoot Out made an ill-fated debut in 1990 and only returned to World Snooker in 2011.

Players are generally said to enjoy the tournament, with its vocal crowds, ticker tape and shot clock making it very different from the other major events.

However, there has been a struggle at times to attract major interest in the Snooker Shoot Out.

World No 1 Shaun Murphy is the highest-ranked player in this tournament, with the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump and John Higgins staying away.