Anthony McGill wins first ranking Snooker Shoot-Out

Anthony McGill has won the 2017 Snooker Shoot-Out, being Xiao Guodong in the final and becoming the first-ever ranking winner of the tournament.

The competition sees players battle in a one-frame shoot-out, lasting either until the table is cleared or ten minutes have passed. There is a shot clock – 15 seconds for the first half of the match, 10 for the last five minutes. It’s a very different type of competition, and it normally levels the playing field and allows less established names a chance to shine.

For McGill, the 67-19 victory was his second ranking title (after the Indian Open earlier this season) – he becomes only the second player to win more than one ranking title this season, the other being Mark Selby.

McGill and Xiao played safety for the first two and a half minutes, before the Scottish player’s attempt to pot a red sent the ball off the table. Xiao was then in control – he potted a good green and a red, but then slipped up. He had a 19-0 lead and he played safety with half the frame left.

The Scottish player potted a red from the top cushion, and he was on the black – he assembled a 67 break, and his control meant there was no chance of Xiao responding.

After the win, McGill said: “I’ve said before it’s a tournament you come to every year and you think you can have a good run but it never works out like that. I can’t believe I’m standing here with the trophy. I’ve never won more than one game. I’ve played in six previous Shoot Outs and maybe only won two or three [game] in total, so when I won my second-round match, I thought that’s happy days. I played well the longer it went on and I felt really confident.”

Despite his success in the tournament, the champion expressed scepticism that the event now featured ranking points: “It shouldn’t be a ranking event. It’s not even snooker rules. You make a foul and you pick the white up. But you’re getting ranking points and it’s going to affect people’s positions and all the rest of it. It would still be a brilliant tournament if it wasn’t and I don’t think a tournament like this should count towards the rankings.”