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Ronnie O'Sullivan and Shaun Murphy are set to battle it out for a share of £100,000 alongside two former world champions and a host of other top names at the inaugural Global Snooker 900 Championship. Both the Rocket and the Magician have been in superb form on the baize recently, with Murphy reaching his fifth world final at the Crucible while O'Sullivan made a triumphant appearance at the venue to clinch the World Seniors Championship.

However, a rather different Crucible will shortly play host to some of the sport's biggest names, as the brand-new Global Snooker 900 Championship gets underway at the Crucible Sports and Social Club in Reading. Former world champions Kyren Wilson and Luca Brecel are among those vying for a slice of the cashprize, and they will be required to do so under a markedly different set of rules to traditional snooker.

The Snooker 900 format, devised by Jason Francis, restricts each frame to just 15 minutes. There will be none of the marathon stalemates witnessed in Sheffield, where eventual champion Wu Yize and Mark Allen played out the longest frame in Crucible history, lasting one hour and 40 minutes.

Competitors must also adhere to a 20-second shot clock, similar to the Shoot Out. While frames are capped at 900 seconds, the tables and balls remain identical to those used in a standard professional match.

Other notable players set to feature at the six-day event include Jimmy White, Ken Doherty, Anthony Hamilton, Joe Perry, Kaylan Patel, Tony Knowles, Tony Drago, Matthew Stevens, Dominic Dale and Stuart Bingham.

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Fans can watch all the action free of charge on Pluto TV throughout the tournament, running from Tuesday, May 12 through to the final on Sunday, May 17. Matches will start as best-of-nine-frames before stepping up to best-of-11 from the semi-final stage onwards.

Snooker 900 creator Francis said: "Launching the first-ever Global Championship with a £100,000 prize pot raises the stakes completely.

"This isn't an exhibition - our field is packed with World Champions and legends fighting hard for the title. The shot clock forces a fearless style of play, and it's going to be fascinating to see who handles the pressure this week."

O'Sullivan enters the competition at the quarter-final stage on Friday alongside Murphy, and will do so at least £30,000 richer following his seniors title victory on Sunday.

He admitted in the aftermath of the win: "I came out and just tried to play match snooker, try and use my brain, play the right shot a little bit because this afternoon I was going for a lot.

"I have not been playing great these three years, my confidence is quite low and when I was getting into little situations, I was missing a few, I am just thinking, 'I never used to miss those balls.' But if I can get my confidence going then I would like to finish my career on a strong note, so that is my ambition left in the game."