Friday Night Shootout — Competition Rules
Version 2.2 · Effective for the November 2026 launch nights.
1. Eligibility
Friday Night Shootout is strictly for people aged 25 or over. Masons may request acceptable photo identification before a player competes. An entrant who cannot demonstrate eligibility when reasonably requested may not take part.
2. Entry and payment
Each paid entry is for one named person and one selected Friday only. Entry costs £15 and is confirmed only after successful Stripe payment. Places are limited to 50 players per night. One competition place is permitted per person per session and entries are not transferable without Masons approval.
3. Arrival windows
The selected 30-minute time is an arrival and check-in window, not a guaranteed playing time. Players must check in during their booked window and remain responsible for watching the live playing-order screens. If a player misses a table call, Masons may move that player down the queue. Repeated missed calls may result in that attempt being recorded as a failed attempt.
4. Competition equipment
All competition cues, balls and table equipment are supplied by Masons. Personal cues or other playing equipment may not be used. Masons may replace or maintain equipment where reasonably necessary to keep conditions safe and consistent.
5. Qualifying format
Each entrant receives two qualifying attempts: one on the 6×3 table and one on the 7×4 table. The two attempts are deliberately separated through the evening. Each attempt starts with 10 object balls plus the white cue ball and has a maximum duration of five minutes.
6. Starting an attempt
When the player's table is ready, the player presses that table's physical start/finish button. A 10-second countdown then runs. The attempt begins when the venue screen displays PLAY and the five-minute competition clock starts. The player must not take a shot before PLAY.
7. Clearing the table and the black
The nine non-black object balls may be potted in any order, regardless of colour. Players are not assigned a colour group. The black must be the final object ball potted. If the black is potted before all nine non-black object balls have been cleared, the attempt ends immediately and is automatically recorded as 5:00. The black must be the only remaining object ball before the final shot.
8. Stopping the clock
Potting the black does not itself stop the time. After legally potting the black as the final ball, the player must move to and press that table's physical finish button. The official time is the time recorded by the system when the finish button is pressed.
9. Balls leaving the table
If an object ball leaves the table, the player must retrieve it personally while the clock continues. The ball is re-spotted on the black spot. If that spot is occupied, it is placed as close as reasonably possible on the centre line without touching another ball. If the cue ball leaves the table or is potted, the player retrieves it and resumes from behind the baulk line. Nobody else may retrieve or replace a ball for the player except where an official is correcting external interference.
10. General play
Combination shots and potting more than one non-black ball in a shot are permitted. No pocket nomination is required. A player must not deliberately move, stop or place balls by hand, clothing or equipment. Coaching or physical assistance during an active attempt is not permitted.
11. Time expiry and failed attempts
An attempt that is not successfully completed before the five-minute clock expires is recorded as a 5:00 qualifying score. An early black is also recorded as a 5:00 qualifying score. The ball must be legally potted before the clock reaches 0:00.
12. Qualifying score and Final Six
The two qualifying scores are averaged. The six lowest qualifying averages progress to the Final Six. Qualifying times and rankings are kept hidden while qualifying is in progress. Once the Final Six reveal begins, each finalist's qualifying average is displayed as that player is announced. After the winner has been confirmed, the full qualifying leaderboard for the session is displayed. If a qualifying-place tie cannot be separated by the fastest individual successful qualifying attempt, the tied players take a skill-based tiebreak on the 7×4 table.
13. Final Six presentation and order
The Final Six are revealed publicly one at a time after qualifying has closed. The venue screen identifies each announcement in sequence — Finalist 1 of 6, Finalist 2 of 6 and so on — and shows that finalist's qualifying average. Qualifying scores are then wiped for the purpose of deciding the winner. Final playing order is determined by qualifying position, with the fastest qualifier scheduled to play last.
14. The final
Each finalist receives one fresh attempt on the 7×4 table under the same five-minute rules. The fastest successful final clearance wins the £500 cash prize. A finalist who pots the black early or fails to complete within five minutes records a failed final attempt.
15. Final ties and no successful clearance
If two or more finalists record the same fastest successful final time, those tied players take another full timed attempt under the same rules until the tie is broken. If no finalist records a successful clearance, the finalists continue with further attempts until a successful winning performance is achieved.
16. Equipment failure or external interference
If a button, timer, cue, table, screen or other competition equipment fails materially, or a spectator or other external event materially interferes with an attempt, Masons may void that attempt and award a replay. Normal crowd noise, obtaining chalk, retrieving balls and player-caused delay do not stop the clock.
17. Officials and technical records
Masons' competition system records check-in, queue calls, starts, finishes, failures, replays and competition results. Masons may correct an obvious technical or recording error where it can be objectively verified. Any material manual intervention should be recorded in the competition audit log.
18. Conduct and safety
Players must follow reasonable safety instructions and use the equipment normally. Masons may stop a player's participation where behaviour, intoxication or misuse of equipment creates a safety risk or materially disrupts the competition.
19. Prize
The advertised winner's prize is £500 cash for the relevant Friday Night Shootout session. The prize is awarded only after the final result has been confirmed under these rules.