Can Zhao Xintong end Crucible Curse at 2025 Snooker Shoot Out as Jimmy White, Luca Brecel, Shaun Murphy and Mark Allen chase title in Blackpool?
By Desmond Kane
Updated 09/12/2025 at 17:21 GMT
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Zhao Xintong had to win 111 frames to become China's first world champion in May, but it will be a bit different when he takes to the main table at the Shoot Out in Blackpool this week. The world No. 10 is set to take on Ross Muir in his tournament opener at the rapid four-day event which gets underway on Wednesday afternoon and concludes on Saturday night with a £50,000 first prize on the table.
'Phenomenal achievement' - Murphy makes first maximum 147 break at Shoot Out
Video credit: TNT Sports
Zhao Xintong is set to be the headline act at this year's Snooker Shoot Out when the raucous ranking tournament returns to its spiritual home of Blackpool for the first time in a decade.
The world champion had to win 111 frames over nine matches to become China's first world champion in May, but the Shoot Out, live on TNT Sports and discovery+ between December 10-13, is all about what a player produces over one frame, lasting a maximum of 10 minutes.
Much of the focus on Zhao will wonder if he can finally end the hoary old 49-year-old Crucible Curse in Sheffield next May by becoming the first maiden winner of the modern era to successfully defend the game's most coveted prize.
But there is another Crucible Curse the recent Riyadh Season champion could address imminently if he is left as the last man standing at the frazzled Shoot Out, where animated fans swallow pints as much as points, on Saturday night in England's Las Vegas of the North.
While it might not be THE Crucible Curse, it could certainly be described as A Crucible Curse.
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Shoot Out: Top 5 Shots
Video credit: TNT Sports
Curiously enough, no world champion, past or present, has managed to carry off the Shoot Out since it was first held in Stoke in 1990, and won by Welshman Darren Morgan, and brought back in its current guise in Blackpool in 2011.
Crucible champions from yesteryear, including new UK champion Mark Selby, Mark Williams, Stuart Bingham, Luca Brecel and Graeme Dott, have all reached the final only to come up short in 16 frantic editions of the event.
And nobody has managed to win the Shoot Out twice ahead of Zhao's opening match against Ross Muir on Thursday afternoon.
Critics will argue that is mainly due to the random nature of the competition, which prompted much debate after being bestowed ranking tournament status in 2017, that could see a player break off and not play another shot in their respective match - a phenomenon which can easily crop up if a player gets in early before embarking upon a telling break on a table that tends to play like an ice rink for added allure.
It is snooker, but not as we know it.
The shot time is 15 seconds for the first five minutes of a frame before being reduced to 10 seconds for the second half, forcing players to adopt a quick-thinking strategy to nullify their opponent.
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‘Who said that?’ – Mann reacts to crowd taunts in crazy Shoot Out encounter
Video credit: TNT Sports
The somewhat manic conditions have prompted some of snooker's biggest names to swerve the competition.
Ronnie O'Sullivan last competed in 2020, reaching the second round in his solitary appearance in 10 years, with world No. 1 Judd Trump absent since 2016 and Neil Robertson, who reached the last eight in Blackpool in 2011, also set to miss this year's edition after going out in the third round last season.
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The tournament returns to Blackpool for the first time since 2015 with Reading, Watford, Leicester and Swansea all playing host over the past decade.
Recent former winners Mark Allen, Hossein Vafaei and Chris Wakelin all take their places on the 128-player starting grid with Masters champion Shaun Murphy, the man responsible for the only 147 in Shoot Out history two years ago, starting out against Patrick Whelan on Wednesday night.
Defending champion Tom Ford begins his title defence against Martin O'Donnell on Wednesday afternoon with the opening session getting underway at 13:00 UK time.
The fast-moving International Championship winner Wu Yize opens on Thursday afternoon against former Crucible qualifier Craig Steadman, who replaces Marco Fu in the draw.
One man who knows about all about a Crucible Curse is Jimmy 'Whirlwind' White, with the six-time world finalist facing Oliver Brown in the first round on Thursday night.
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Ford makes winning break in final minute to beat Graham for Snooker Shoot Out glory
Video credit: TNT Sports
Meanwhile, Ken Doherty, the 1997 world champion, is set to become the sole survivor from the original Shoot Out in 1990 when he meets Mateusz Baranowski of Poland on Wednesday afternoon.
The evergreen Irish professional withdrew from last year's tournament in Leicester, the only time he has missed the raucous one-frame contests, but will join a wide array of potting promise in the chase for the £50,000 first prize.
Elsewhere, 14-year-old Ellise Scott, ranked top in the women's U21 game, will make her professional debut on the main circuit when she faces women's world champion Bai Yulu on Thursday afternoon.
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‘Doing his best John Travolta’ – Ma delights Shoot Out fans with exuberant showmanship
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Watch and stream the 2025/26 snooker season, including the Snooker Shoot Out and Scottish Open, live on TNT Sports and discovery+
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