By Elliott West
“What a field day the bookmakers would have had. Just imagine being able of being able to lay odds of about 6-1 against Davis or Hendry knowing they have little chance of succeeding”.
Joe O’Boye
Introduction
The 1990 Shoot-Out was a professional non-ranking tournament that took place in September 1990 at Trentham Gardens in Stoke-on-Trent. Brought in originally o fill a gap in the snooker calendar when its sponsor, Fidelity withdrew and ITV refused to broadcast it, it was then backed by the WPBSA to the tune of £40,000 with a winner’s share of £5,000. The tournament was given a seal of approval by the players and the general public and had a high possibility of a regular spot on the main tour.
The Tournament
With a format very similar to today’s Snooker Shootout minus the shot clock and the heckling from the audience, this tournament was played over round one, last 64, last 32, last 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final. It was an event that many of the players would wish to forget as so many of them crashed out early. These included World Champion Stephen Hendry, looking far from his usual self, being sent home packing by fellow Scot Alan McManus in 26 minutes, Steve Davis losing to Ray Edmonds in the second round and after two days the 116 field of players was whittled down to only 16 with only Neal Foulds, Dean Reynolds and Mike Hallett remaining from the top 16.
Tony Knowles arrived breathless to his third-round match against Martin Clark. Rushing down the motorway from Bolton, Knowles hadn’t realised he was playing that day and made up the mistake by putting in a blistering performance. So good that he produced the highest break of the tournament, a 120. Highly complimentary of the competition, Tony believe it would be highly successful and was tailor-made for television. A viewing winner because the one-frame scenario could swing in the favour of either player and was packed with tension and drama. Knowles went on to reach the quarter-finals and was only narrowly beaten by Mike Hallett.
It was amazing that Mike Hallett even reached the final. A car crash with WPBSA director Bill Oliver had left him shaken but not stirred. Not the same was for Oliver, whose £60,000 Porsche was badly damaged and Bill was injured. Hallett went on to beat Gary Wilkinson and Whitthread to reach the last 16.
In the final, Mike Hallett played Darren Morgan. Morgan got the better of his stablemate and won the match 2-1. The Welshman who won £5,000 for his efforts, highly enjoyed the experience and loved the fact that there was little pressure on the players. The only tension is when the final drew at 1-1 and both realised that the third frame had a lot of money riding on it. Then only 23, Darren had only just won his national championship for the first time the previous season and was a great opportunity to mix with many of the players they didn’t get a chance to often socialise with. An event that was full of laughs, joking amongst themselves and the officials.
