Barry Hawkins will step out into the cauldron of the Blackpool Tower Circus Arena on Friday to begin the defence of his Sky Sports Shoot Out title.

This year’s event is sponsored by Betfair and televised live by Sky Sports with syndication to major global television channels giving Hawkins the platform to show his skills that won him the title last year.

Hawkins assisted with the live draw on TalkSport Radio and, as the names came out of the hat, the defending Champion found himself paired against none other than the legendary six times World Champion Steve Davis.

During the 2012 Sky Sports Shoot Out Hawkins exclusively monopolised the television screens for over 70 minutes and the Top 16 star from Ditton is aiming to lift the title again:

“I’d love to win it again. It was brilliant last year.”

“It’s a bit of a lottery in such short matches and realistically anyone could win, but I learned how to pace myself last year and not rush around too much.”

“I’ll obviously be hoping to win as many matches as possible and get more television time for my sponsor.”

“It’s brilliant to be working with LITEtasks. They’re a superb company. I met some of the staff and their families last year and they’ll be in Blackpool to support me again.”

Snooker fans can watch Hawkins in action as he gets the game against Davis underway at 6pm on Friday night.