Snooker Shoot Out outright predictions and betting tips: Gary Wilson could go all the way

Where to watch the Snooker Shoot Out

Eurosport 1, from 1pm Wednesday

Best bets for the Snooker Shoot Out

Gary Wilson
0.5pt each-way 50-1 Hills

Elliot Slessor
0.5pt each-way 66-1 Hills

Martin O’Donnell
0.5pt each-way 66-1 Hills

Snooker Shoot Out predictions

The one-frame extravaganza of the Snooker Shoot Out gets underway in Swansea on Wednesday lunchtime and there could be a trio of tasty outright wagers.

Clearly, the one-frame format, shot clock and random draw add a fair bit of uncertainty into the mix, but that’s reflected in the outright prices and Mark Allen, Shaun Murphy, Mark Williams Kyren Wilson and Hossein Vafaei are 28-1 co-favourites of five this year.

There have been 13 different winners of the novelty event since its inception in 2011 and there could be a new name on the trophy come Saturday night. 

Gary Wilson hasn’t had the impact he would have liked in ranking events this season, but it was only last year that the Tyneside Terror was lifting the Scottish Open crown and the 38-year-old can go well at 50-1, with Hills offering each-way terms of four places.

The Wallsend cueman has been mixing it in the world of pool this year. And while that is a different discipline, being comfortable under shot-clock conditions, and playing with fan interaction, is not bad preparation for the Shoot Out. 

Wilson faces a tricky first-round tie against Jordan Brown, but the Geordie could scare off his opening-round rival and put up a big performance in Swansea. 

Elliot Slessor looks to have been handed a kind first-round draw against Ryan Thomerson and that can help the Gateshead cueman grow into the event. 

Thomerson has failed to qualify for all eight ranking events this season. The Aussie has managed just one match victory all season, and even over just a single-frame format, the 29-year-old is likely to be outclassed. 

Slessor has been handed some tough draws this season, but he ran in-form Zhang Anda to a final frame in last week’s UK Championship and 66-1 looks a nice offer.

At the same price, Martin O’Donnell can complete a trio of outright wagers. The MoD made the semi-finals of the Shoot Out in 2018, the last eight in 2021, and although the Londoner isn’t the speediest potter on tour, he is a quick-thinking and tactically astute cueman.

O’Donnell returned to the main tour at the start of the campaign and he has already made a ranking-event impact by beating Mark Selby and Stephen Maguire in a run to the quarter-finals of the English Open.

He faces veteran Andy Hicks in round one, which should allow O’Donnell to progress and potentially star in Swansea.

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