YORK snooker player Ashley Hugill has been named as one of the eight wild card picks for the BetVictor Shoot Out which takes place in Watford later this month.

The picks were based upon recent performances by players in the World Snooker Federation Open and the Challenge Tour.

25-year-old Hugill impressed with his victory at the World Snooker Federation Open in Malta where he defeated Ukraine's Iulian Boiko in the competition's final.

The tournament has a unique format with all matches lasting a maximum of ten minutes within a single frame, with a shot clock of 15 seconds for the first five minutes and 10 seconds for the last five.

The world ranking event runs from Thursday, February 20 to Sunday, February 23 at the Watford Colosseum, with every match being televised live on Eurosport.

In all there are 128 players in the field, including 118 professionals, eight wild cards and two from the Q School ranking list.

Leading professional players in the field will include five-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan - who last played in the event in 2015 - Mark Selby, Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy, Mark Allen, Stuart Bingham, Jimmy White and Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh who won the title last year.

The tournament is the third of four events in the BetVictor European Series, with the leading money winner across the series to earn a bonus of £150,000.

Current top two Neil Robertson and Judd Trump have not entered the BetVictor Shoot Out, giving several others a chance to gain ground if they can win the £50,000 top prize and put themselves into contention going in the last event, the BetVictor Gibraltar Open in March.