While the Snooker Shoot-Out may not be the most popular event on the calendar among fans, it is an event that can offer opportunity.
If you look at past winners like Barry Hawkins, Martin Gould and Michael White and how they have gone on to win ranking events after winning the Shoot-Out or players like Robin Hull and Michael Georgiou have come from lower down the rankings to achieve their biggest payday, then the tournament has a history of producing opportunities.
Two years ago when the tournament widened to 128 and a number of amateur top-ups completed the field, Steven Hallworth made the quarter-finals and lost out to Andy Hicks who would eventually fall at the semi-final stage, despite neither being on tour at the time.
This year, as well as the Q School top-up players there are eight players who have been invited to the tournament as wildcards. Two female players will play in the event for the first time and make their UK TV debuts, while young players from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Belgium have also been invited to compete in Watford.
Each player has a story of success, whatever the stage they are at in their respective careers, so lets meet the eight wildcard contenders for this week:
Liam Davies: The Welsh wildcard for the Shoot-Out is 12-year-old Liam Davies. The youngster is the Welsh under 14 champion, the Welsh under 16 champion, as well as being ranked the welsh under 14 number one and number three in this season's Welsh under 18 rankings. An excellent opportunity Davies to experience a ranking tournament and play on TV for the very first time he will face Ricky Walden on Thursday afternoon in the first match to start. As this is an afternoon match, as well as being broadcast on Eurosport, Terrestrial viewers will be able to see Davies' debut on Quest.
Ben Mertens: Next in the draw is 14-year-old Belgium player Ben Mertens. Amazingly given his age this will be the third time he has appeared in a ranking event this season. He came through amateur qualifying at the Paul Hunter Classic to qualify for the professional stages, before defeating Adam Stefanow 4-1 in the last 128 but ultimately lost out in the last 64 4-0 to Andrew Higginson. Mertens was also invited to play in the German Masters qualifiers, another good experience despite suffering a 5-0 loss to Yuan Sijun. He was a quarter-finalist in the 2018 European under 18 Championship and he is scheduled to face James Wattana in the sixth match on Thursday afternoon.
Liam Graham: Another 14-year-old invitee is Scottish wildcard Liam Graham. This young man is the current Scottish under 16 champion and could well be a future star to fill the shoes worn by past Scottish snooker greats. At the beginning of the month he won the second Scottish under 21 tour event. As well as making his debut in a ranking event with this appearance, he will make his TV debut like Davies on both Eurosport and Quest as his opening round match with Jak Jones is scheduled to be the third match on Friday afternoon.
Stephen Bateman: Also receiving an invite to compete as the wildcard for Ireland is 21-year-old Stephen Bateman. He may not be as young as his Welsh or Scottish counterparts but he certainly has the talent. Bateman is the current Irish under 21 champion and has previously competed at European level also. His ranking event and TV debut comes against English Open runner-up Mark Davis and the schedule has been kind to him too, as he will make his terrestrial TV debut, playing in match number six on Friday afternoon.
Emma Parker: The first of two female wildcards in this year's Snooker Shoot-Out is 19-year-old English player Emma Parker. Not only is Parker the number one in the women's under 21 world rankings but she is also number 10 in the overall women's world rankings. Previous success has seen Parker claim the women's under 21 World and UK Championships back in 2017 as well as winning the under 21 European Masters in 2018. Parker will be making her debut in a men's ranking event and her TV debut as she faces Q-School top-up Laxman Rawat in the third match scheduled on Friday evening.
Brandon Sargeant: The next wildcard to feature is that of Challenge Tour order of merit leader Brandon Sargeant. The Englishman has secured a two-year tour card for next season, despite one event on the Challenge Tour still remaining. Sargeant has led the Challenge Tour order of merit right from the off last summer when he won the very first event by defeating Mitchell Mann in the final. He followed that with successive semi-finals in events three and four, before making another final in event five. Two further semi-finals in events seven and nine, with a quarter-final appearance in event eight have done more than enough to secure his card and he will get a taste of tour action by playing here and making his TV debut. Sargeant will be one of the last matches to play in round one, as he faces John Astley in the tenth match scheduled for Friday evening.
Reanne Evans: The second of the two women's wildcards is reserved for someone who is quite simply a legend of the game and someone who has done so much for women's snooker. Reanne Evans is an 11-time women's World Champion, an 8-time women's UK Champion, a long standing number one in the rankings and current women's world number two. This is far from Evans' first appearance in a men's event, having previously played on the main tour for one season, as well as receiving various invites to play. As well as making the final stages of the Wuxi Classic previously by beating Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Evans also made the second qualifying round of the World Championships in 2017 after beating Finland's Robin Hull in an outstanding victory. Her reward is to play another legend of the game in the final match to play on Thursday evening in front of what will surely be a boisterous crowd as Evans faces the Whirlwind Jimmy White.
Ryan Davies: Last but by no means least is 16-year-old English wildcard Ryan Davies. Much like Bertens, this will not be his first appearance in the final stages of a ranking event though as he came through the amateur qualifying to make the professional stages of the Paul Hunter Classic earlier this season. Davies then went on to whitewash fellow amateur Kilian Baur-Pantoulier in the last 128 before falling in the last 64 4-1 against Liam Highfield. Davies is currently cleaning up the titles in the English junior game. He is currently the English under 16 and under 18 snooker champion as well as holding the English under 16 and under 21 Billiards Championship titles. His TV debut like the young Scottish, Irish and Welsh wildcards will also be on terrestrial TV as well, as he takes on Robbie Williams in the seventh match on Friday afternoon.
A further 15 amateur players will be competing in the Shoot-Out having been drafted in from the Q-School top-up list. Some of these are ex-tour professionals like James Cahill, Andy Hicks, Barry Pinches and Micthell Mann while others like Laxman Rawat and Peter Devlin have got a fantastic opportunity to appear in a ranking event and on TV in the UK and across Europe.
In a tournament that is such a lottery,maybe one of these wildcards or indeed a non-tour player could be right there in the very final stages on Sunday evening, which would be an amazing story for the sport.
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