The Snooker Shoot Out counts down to its climax on Saturday with the 2023 champion set to win £50,000.
After three frenetic days of action at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, 32 contenders remain in the hunt for the top prize.
That still equates to five more victories needed on the fourth and final day of what is the most unpredictable ranking tournament on the snooker calendar.
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No current member of the top 16 has ever lasted the distance in the shot-clock competition since it was launched back in 2011.
The likelihood of that streak continuing is high, with just Mark Williams and Jack Lisowski still involved following the opening couple of rounds.
Williams went all the way to the final a year ago only to be denied glory by Hossein Vafaei, while Lisowski is often labelled as a player well-suited to this format.
But even so, it takes a lot of luck to be the last player standing, and it seems significantly more probable that one of the other 30 competitors from lower down the rankings list will end up as this year’s Snooker Shoot Out champion.
Williams faces Dechawat Poomjaeng in an entertaining third-round fixture, while Lisowski is challenged by former world number 12 Mark Davis.
There are four former champions left in total, with 2013 and 2014 winners Martin Gould and Dominic Dale facing Liam Highfield and Asjad Iqbal respectively.
Michael White, champion in 2015 when the tournament was still staged as an invitational, plays Alexander Ursenbacher while 2020 winner Michael Holt entertains Fan Zhengyi.
Holt, the self-proclaimed GOAT of the Snooker Shoot Out format having also reached the final in 2019, is one of three amateurs still with a shot becoming champion in 2023.
The others are Daniel Wells, who faces Ben Woollaston, and Moldova’s Vladislav Gradinari – arguably the star of the week so far.
Aged just 14, Gradinari became the youngest ever winner of a TV match by beating Ng On Yee in round one and backed it up with a second-round defeat of Victor Sarkis.
Meanwhile, the likes of Ali Carter and Noppon Saengkham will be hoping to go further and bolster their chances of qualifying for next month’s Players Championship on the Duelbits Series.
All of the last-32 ties take place during the afternoon session, before the remaining four rounds with random draws are completed back-to-back in the evening session starting a 7pm GMT.
Last 32 draw
Session starts at 1pm GMT on Saturday
Cao Yupeng vs Ali Carter
Fergal O’Brien vs Julien Leclercq
Tom Ford vs Vladislav Gradinari
Dominic Dale vs Asjad Iqbal
Fan Zhengyi vs Michael Holt
David Grace vs David Lilley
Daniel Wells vs Ben Woollaston
Michael White vs Alexander Ursenbacher
Joe Perry vs Chris Wakelin
Jak Jones vs Xu Si
Lukas Kleckers vs Yuan Sijun
Zhou Yuelong vs Gary Wilson
Dylan Emery vs Noppon Saengkham
Liam Highfield vs Martin Gould
Mark Davis vs Jack Lisowski
Mark Williams vs Dechawat Poomjaeng
Where to watch the Snooker Shoot Out
Live coverage will be available in Britain, Ireland, and across Europe via Eurosport and discovery+.
Other options are available for viewers around the world, which you can view by clicking here.
Featured photo credit: WST
