Snooker's revolution is set to intensify on Friday as the world’s best players return to the North West after six years – and Preston’s Ian McCulloch believes it is the perfect place for the sport to reinvent itself.
Blackpool’s Circus Arena is to host the inaugural World Shoot-out, which Barry Hearn, the eminent sports promoter and chairman of snooker’s governing body, hopes will set the tone for a speedier and more thrilling version of the game. One-frame matches will last just 10 minutes and players will be limited to 20 seconds for each shot, reduced to 15 once they pass the halfway stage.
The top 64 players in the world will compete in the televised event. To add to the drama they have not been seeded in the draw, leading to a first-round heavyweight clash between John Higgins, ranked No 1, and Mark Williams, ranked No 3.
Former world No 16 McCulloch has been drawn against Stuart Bingham, ranked 43 places above him.
McCulloch, born in Walton-Le- Dale, is looking forward to the contest and said Blackpool is the
ideal town to start snooker out on its quest to become as popular as it was in the 1980s.
“There’s a time and a place for this kind of snooker,” said McCulloch, 39.
“And Blackpool is obviously one of those places.
“We haven’t had anything local on the tour since 2005 when the Grand Prix left Preston.
“But I’ve played in lots of events up in Blackpool over the years, so it will be good to be back again.
“Hopefully this will kick-start snooker in the region and bring a few more juniors back into it.”
The final qualifying stages of major tournaments were played in Blackpool’s Norbreck Castle between 1992 and 1997, and McCulloch believes the town will embrace snooker’s return.
He added: “I think the shoot-out will get a lot of interest because of the new format, and Blackpool is an enthusiastic town so I would expect it to get a good following.”
The tournament is the creation of World Snooker chief Hearn, who is also chairman of the professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and is credited with popularising snooker in the 1970s, as
well as turning darts into a commercial success.
McCulloch continued: “Anyone who says Barry Hearn’s reforms are bad needs his head testing.
“For five or six years we’ve been playing around seven tournaments a year and now we’re playing 25 so it’s brilliant. It’s a fantastic opportunity.”
Hearn’s successful overhaul of darts involved striking a deal with Sky to televise the PDC’s events. He also glamorised players’ entrances and has taken tournaments to Las Vegas, USA.
The World Shoot-out has seemingly been based on a similar blueprint.
Sky will screen the event – the first time they have covered live snooker since 2004 – and players will be escorted to the table by glamour girls. When they lose, bouncers will take them away from the action.
“I think it’s absolutely brilliant. There’s nothing wrong with anything that can glamorise it a little bit,” said former World Championship semi-finalist McCulloch.
“Anyway, it’s not just two dolly birds on your arm – I think one of them is Miss Blackpool. It’s a bit gimmicky and great for the odd event. It’s going to be very light-hearted.
“Whether you can get on par with the darts is another thing.”
McCulloch believes this weekend’s competition, which has a £32,000 top prize, could throw up a surprise winner.
“Anybody can win it. You could stick a pin in the draw.
“You’re going to see all sorts of things going on. There will be a lot of new tactics. You’re going to see people break off and not get another shot.
"Someone will knock in a long red, or fluke one, and clear up.
“You’re going to see referees making mistakes and you’re going to see players making mistakes because they don’t know the ins and outs of the rules.”
While Hearn has sought to revitalise snooker by taking the shoot-out to McCulloch’s native Lancashire, the longterm future of his revolution may well lie further afield – in China.
The game’s popularity has rocketed in the country and an estimated 100 million Chinese people watched countryman Ding Junhui, the world No 4, overcome Hong Kong’s Marco Fu in the final of the Masters two weeks ago.
Two of the eight ranking tournaments on the World Snooker circuit are also played in China.
But McCulloch, who still lives in Preston and is nearing the end of his career, says he wouldn’t consider spending long periods in the country.
“In the next 10 years I think you’ll have to make a decision to go and play on a Chinese tour, or at least spend two to three months at a time in China.
“I’m 40 years old this summer and married with two kids so I don’t want to be traipsing off there. I don’t need to go. Playing is not life or death to me anymore.”
And the ‘Preston Potter’, who has won over £500,000 during a 19-year career, already has his future away from the table planned.
“I’m involved very heavily with various other things. I act as an agent for a few players and for a lot of darts lads. I also do a lot of consultancy work for William Hill and I’ll continue with that.”
Preston’s Stuart Pettman, who has also backed Barry Hearn’s reforms, is drawn against Belgian Bjorn Haneveer in the first round of the shoot-out.
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