'All bets are off' - Elliot Slessor's Shoot Out error that might have earned victory against Iulian Boiko in 'normal snooker'

At 17-13 ahead of Iulian Boiko in the fourth round of the Shoot Out at the Tower Circus in Blackpool, Elliot Slessor looked poised to move into the quarter-finals. However, a surprise error cost him against the Ukrainian. Commentators Dominic Dale and Alan McManus both appeared to have been under the same misapprehension as the English competitor, due to a particular Shoot out rule.

'Very tense in here' - Drama as Shoot Out scoreboard disappears

Video credit: TNT Sports

Elliot Slessor might have suffered a moment of confusion against opponent Iulian Boiko in the fourth round of the Shoot Out at the Tower Circus in Blackpool on Saturday evening.

The Shoot Out sees players face off over a single frame, but there are a host of extra rules compared to usual WST tournament regulations.

In contrast to no time limit in standard snooker, each frame lasts a maximum of 10 minutes. There is a shot clock that sees each player get 15 seconds per shot for the first five minutes, and just 10 seconds per shot in the second and final five minutes of the frame.

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All fouls result in ball-in-hand, meaning the player awarded the foul can place the ball anywhere they want on the table. In the event of a tie, there is a blue-ball shootout. There is also another different rule for the match, which Slessor may have forgotten, to his cost.

With the scores at 17-13 in Slessor’s favour, the Englishman looked to hide the cue ball behind the pink, sending the green up the table, and leaving his Ukrainian opponent struggling to get out of a snooker.

It appeared that he had perfected the effort, but there was a crucial problem which commentator Alan McManus initially failed to spot.

Before the shot, the Scot said: "If he can nail this, he should win the match, barring a fluke."

After seeing the cue ball rest behind the pink, he exclaimed: "He played it to perfection."

Co-commentator Dominic Dale chimed in, "oh, and he's delighted with it," as Slessor swung his cue. However, McManus quickly realised that by the rules of the Shoot Out, he had actually committed a foul, and Boiko earned five points, going 18-17 ahead.

The rule is that from a shot, at least one ball must touch a cushion if the object ball is not potted. With the cue ball and green both falling just short, Slessor had made a mistake and handed the advantage to Boiko.

McManus reacted: "So all bets are off. Oh sorry, it was a foul. Oh sorry, it was a foul. My goodness, the green didn't reach."

Dale added: "I thought he was expressing happiness, the joy, that he played the shot well, which of course he did, in normal snooker terms. The green ball didn’t reach the cushion."

'Very tense in here' - Drama as Shoot Out scoreboard disappears

Video credit: TNT Sports

His colleague explained that the atmosphere in Blackpool had led to his own mistake, saying: "Apologies, ladies and gentlemen. I was so wrapped up in the cue ball and the pink, in the arena, watching it live."

Boiko was able to claim the win, with the score ending 35-17 in his favour. He will feature in the quarter-finals of the tournament later on Saturday evening, with the semi-finals and final to be played the same night.

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