“To win on my home turf is absolutely brilliant.”
Tom Ford
Introduction
The Snooker Shootout is not my favourite tournament of the season, but I must admit that I have warmed to it over the years. This hybrid of snooker with one framed frenzied play, a shot clock, and its unique set of rules is a lottery with a large field of players and a tournament in which it is frankly impossible to pick a winner. With many top players choosing to opt out of the event, lower-ranked players have plenty of opportunity to claim the £50,000 prize money and a place in the Champion of Champions.
A Frenzied Affair
With this year’s tournament place in Leicester. In a city associated with Malcolm Willie Thorne and Mark Selby, many players were sent home packing after just a few minutes under the television lights. Highlights were Jimmy White potting the blue and feathering a red and Shaun Murphy having to justify his disastrous attempt on a dart board despite claiming he had hit a nine-darter on a previous visit. With the customary chant of “yellow” from the audience and plenty of pints consumed, this is the only event where the players don’t get a seat to sit down. Not that there is much time to do so if there was one. With Rob Walker at the helm as MC, the crowd swelled as the tournament advanced.
Tom Ford was matched against the lesser-known 20-year-old Scottish Liam Graham in the final, ranked 100. Ford, who had been knocking on the door for a ranking trophy for some years, returned from 28-8 behind to win the title. When interviewed by Rob Walker, Tom, an emotional man, dedicated the victory to his sponsor, Brian Todd. A man who had inspired his career and whose funeral he had attended on the Wednesday of that week. Ford, who had a long association with Leicester, was thrilled to win on home soil. Tom, who had considered pulling out of the event at the Mattolli Arena, was persuaded by his wife to compete. Despite his loss, Ford came up trumps and was crowned in glory. A 21-year wait worth waiting for.
