Snooker's quick-fire one frame knockout tournament - the Shootout - gets underway in Blackpool on Friday as 64 players battle it out for £130,000 in prize money.
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The unique non-ranking tournament, now in it's second staging, sees all matches last for ten minutes, with frames subjected to a 20 second shot clock in the first five minutes and a 15 second shot clock in the last five.
The attacking nature of the format means players must hit a cushion with either the cue ball or the object ball or pot a ball with every shot. All fouls result in ball in hand.
Veteran Nigel Bond won the first event in 2011 and begins the defence of his title against Robert Milkins to bring the curtain up on the 2012 event.
The Open draw has pitched together a number of tasty ties, including Mark Williams against legend Steve Davis, and Anthony Hamilton versus the people's champion - Jimmy White.
Undoubtedly the match of the round sees a re-run of the 2011 World Championship final, with John Higgins taking on wonderkid Judd Trump.
Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry faces young star Jack Lisowski, while newly crowned Masters champion Neil Robertson plays Jamie Cope.
First round matches will be played over the first two days on Friday and Saturday, with the later rounds commencing on Saturday evening and culminating in the final on Sunday.
Ronnie O'Sullivan has decided to opt out of the tournament, while Rod Lawler replaces the injured Joe Jogia.
The unpredictablyy of the format is reflected in the pre-tournament odds, with Mark Selby, Mark Williams and Judd Trump deemed joint favourites at 16/1.
Action gets underway at 6pm on Friday, with selected matches being streamed live from the Circus Arena, Blackpool.
Partypoker.com Snooker Shootout 2012 First Round Schedule
Friday, January 27
6pm-10pm
Last 64
Robert Milkins vs. Nigel Bond
Mark Williams vs. Steve Davis
Ali Carter vs. Matthew Stevens
Stephen Maguire vs. Anthony McGill
Graeme Dott vs. Alan McManus
Stuart Bingham vs. Liu Song
John Higgins vs. Judd Trump
Gerard Greene vs. Jamie Burnett
Ken Doherty vs. Michael Holt
Tom Ford vs. Jimmy Robertson
Mark Selby vs. Joe Perry
Mark Allen vs. Rory McLeod
Martin Gould vs. Peter Ebdon
Anthony Hamilton vs. Jimmy White
Mark Davis vs. Mark Joyce
Stephen Lee vs. Peter Lines
Saturday January 28
12pm-4pm
Tony Drago vs. Andy Hicks
Ding Junhui vs. Barry Hawkins
Ben Woollaston vs. Alfie Burden
Neil Robertson vs. Jamie Cope
Ricky Walden vs. Liu Chuang
Andrew Higginson vs. Liang Wenbo
Shaun Murphy vs. Fergal O'Brien
Marcus Campbell vs. Xiao Guodong
Mark King vs. Dominic Dale
Marco Fu vs. Barry Pinches
Dave Harold vs. James Wattana
Matthew Selt vs. Rod Lawler
Mike Dunn vs. Michael White
Stephen Hendry vs. Jack Lisowski
Jamie Jones vs. Adrian Gunnell
Ryan Day vs. Joe Swail
Selected outright odds courtesy of Bet365
Mark Selby 16/1
Mark Williams 16/1
Judd Trump 16/1
Neil Robertson 18/1
Ding Junhui 20/1
John Higgins 22/1
Shaun Murphy 25/1
Mark Allen
Stephen Hendry 50/1
Nigel Bond 50/1
Tony Drago 66/1
Jimmy White 100/1
Steve Davis 100/1
Prize Fund
Winner £32,000
Runner-up £16,000
Semi-finals £8,000
Quarter-finals £4,000
Last 16 £2,000
Last 32 £1,000
Last 64 £500
Highest break £2,000
Total £130,000
